title: Jon Lester

text: Lester grew up in Puyallup, Washington and attended All Saints School. He later attended Bellarmine Preparatory School where he was a three-time MVP and three-time All-Area selection. On January 9, 2009, Lester married Farrah Stone Johnson, who he met in 2007 while making rehab starts in single-A Greenville. Together, they have two sons and one daughter. During the season, they resided in the Graceland West neighborhood of Chicago in a $3.8 million home, but sold it in 2021 after Lester left the Cubs. They reside in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta during the offseason, and Lester owns 1,500 acres in the southwest part of Georgia.


title: Jon Lester

text: In March 2011, Lester partnered with Charity Wines to release his own wine label under the Longball Cellars brand. Proceeds from sales of his CabernAce cabernet support the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the place where Lester himself was treated, to aid the development of targeted immunotherapies. Funds raised from this initiative will help researchers maximize the body's own ability to strike out and eliminate disease so lymphoma patients can extend their life. He is partnering with former teammate Clay Buchholz who is also releasing a Charity Wine, called ChardonClay, to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.


title: Jon Lester

text: Lester and his wife Farrah established NVRQT, short for "Never Quit", in 2011 to support children with cancer and researchers working towards a cure. Lester has written guest columns about his cause on Boston.com and CNN.com.


title: Jon Lester

text: In his free time, Lester is an avid hunter and a wine aficionado. During the 2015 offseason, in an attempt to woo him, the Chicago Cubs sent Lester fine wines and camouflage Cubs shirts.<ref></


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith. He scored and arranged music for many films and television shows, earning an Academy Award and three Grammy Awards. He found commercial and critical success with a new generation in the 1980s, in a trio of Platinum albums with Linda Ronstadt.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle was born in Oradell, New Jersey, the only child to survive to birth, and after, of Marie Albertine Riddle (a native of Mulhouse, France, whose father was Spanish) and Nelson Smock Riddle, who was of English-Irish and Dutch descent. His mother had suffered six miscarriages and one stillbirth in her lifetime. It was his mother's second marriage. The family later moved to nearby Ridgewood.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Following his father's interest in music, he began taking piano lessons at age eight and trombone lessons at age fourteen. He was encouraged to continue his musical pursuits at Ridgewood High School.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: A formative experience was hearing Serge Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing Maurice Ravel's "Boléro". Riddle said later: "... I've never forgotten it. It's almost as if the orchestra leaped from the stage and smacked you in the face ..."


title: Nelson Riddle

text: By his teenage years, Riddle had decided to become a professional musician; "... I wanted to be a jazz trombone player, but I didn't have the coordination." So he began to turn to composing and arranging.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: The Riddle family had a summer house in Rumson, New Jersey. Riddle enjoyed Rumson so much that he convinced his parents to allow him to attend his senior year in high school there (1938).


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In Rumson while playing for trumpeter Charlie Briggs' band, the Briggadiers, he met one of the most important influences on his later arranging style: Bill Finegan, with whom he began arranging lessons. Despite being only four years older than Riddle, Finegan was considerably more musically sophisticated, within a few years creating not only some of the most popular arrangements from the swing era, such as Glenn Miller's "Little Brown Jug", but also great jazz arrangements such as Tommy Dorsey's "Chloe" and "At Sundown" from the mid-1940s.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: After his graduation from Rumson High School, Riddle spent his late teens and early 20s playing trombone in and occasionally arranging for various local dance bands, culminating in his association with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra. In 1943, Riddle joined the Merchant Marine, serving at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York for about two years while continuing to work for the Charlie Spivak Orchestra.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle studied orchestration under his fellow merchant mariner, composer Alan Shulman. After his enlistment term ended, Riddle traveled to Chicago to join Tommy Dorsey's orchestra in 1944, where he remained the orchestra's third trombone for eleven months until drafted by the Army in April 1945, shortly before the end of World War II. He was discharged in June 1946, after fifteen months of active duty. He moved shortly thereafter to Hollywood to pursue a career as an arranger, and spent the next several years writing arrangements for multiple radio and record projects. In May 1949, Doris Day had a #2 hit, "Again", backed by Riddle.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1950, Riddle was hired by composer Les Baxter to write arrangements for a recording session with Nat King Cole; this was one of Riddle's first associations with Capitol Records. Although one of the songs Riddle had arranged, "Mona Lisa," soon became the biggest selling single of Cole's career, the work was credited to Baxter. However, once Cole learned the identity of the arrangement's creator, he sought out Riddle's work for other sessions, and thus began a fruitful partnership that furthered the careers of both men at Capitol.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: During the same year, Riddle also formed a friendship with Vern Yocum (born George Vernon Yocum), a big band jazz musician (and brother of Pied Piper Clark Yocum) who would transition into music preparation for Frank Sinatra and other entertainers at Capitol Records. A collaboration followed, with Vern becoming Riddle's "right hand" as copyist and librarian for the next thirty years.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1953, Capitol Records executives viewed the up-and-coming Riddle as a prime choice to arrange for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was reluctant however, preferring instead to remain with Axel Stordahl, his long-time collaborator from his Columbia Records years. When success of the first few Capitol sides with Stordahl proved disappointing, Sinatra eventually relented and Riddle was called in to arrange his first session for Sinatra, held on April 30, 1953. Riddle, drawing heavily on Sinatra’s rhythm section lead by Irving Cottler [percussionist], featured drummer on Coles “Mona Lisa”, in addition to Los Angeles 1st string session musicians the Wrecking Crew. The first product of the Riddle-Sinatra partnership, "I've Got the World on a String” became a runaway hit and is often credited with relaunching the singer's slumping career. Riddle's personal favorite was a Sinatra ballad album, one of his most successful recordings, "Only the Lonely".


title: Nelson Riddle

text: For the next decade, Riddle continued to arrange for Sinatra and Cole, in addition to such Capitol artists as Kate Smith, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Keely Smith, Sue Raney, and Ed Townsend. He also found time to record his own instrumental discs, released on Capitol in both 45 RPM single, and LP album format. Riddle's most successful tune was "Lisbon Antigua", released in November 1955, which reached and remained at the #1 position for four weeks in 1956. Riddle's most notable LPs were "Hey ... Let Yourself Go" (1957) and "C'mon ... Get Happy" (1958), both of which peaked at a respectable number twenty on the Billboard charts. In 1959, he won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1958 (over 5 minutes duration) at the inaugural award ceremony for "Cross Country Suite", which was composed for former bandmate Buddy DeFranco.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: While at Capitol, Riddle continued his successful career arranging music for film, most notably with MGM's Conrad Salinger on the first onscreen duet between Bing Crosby and Sinatra in "High Society" (1956), and the 1957 film version of "Pal Joey" directed by George Sidney for Columbia Pictures.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1957, Riddle and his orchestra were featured on "The Rosemary Clooney Show", a 30-minute syndicated program.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1962, Riddle orchestrated two albums for Ella Fitzgerald, "Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson", and "Ella Swings Gently with Nelson", their first work together since 1959's "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book". The mid-1960s would also see Fitzgerald and Riddle collaborate on the last of Ella's "Songbook"s, devoted to the songs of Jerome Kern ("Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book") and Johnny Mercer ("Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book").


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1963, Riddle joined Sinatra's newly established label Reprise Records, under the musical direction of Morris Stoloff.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1964, Riddle partnered with Tom Jobim, who is considered to be one of the great exponents of Brazilian music and one of the main founders of the Bossa Nova movement. The record, entitled The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim, was released in 1965.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1966, Riddle was hired by television producer William Dozier to create the music for the "Batman" television series starring Adam West. (Neal Hefti had written the "Batman" theme song and was originally hired for the series, but became unavailable.) Riddle did the first two seasons of "Batman" (sans two episodes scored by Warren Barker), along with the theatrically released "Batman: The Movie". Billy May did the third season's music. Re-recordings of Riddle's music from Batman were issued on one soundtrack LP and a 45 RPM single. There was a "Batmanesque" tone in the soundtrack for Howard Hawks' John Wayne film "El Dorado", also scored by Riddle in 1966, due to his continued heavy use of brass.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle was the musical director for 16 episodes of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" between 1967 and 1969.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle's film and television work in the 60s included his hit theme song for "Route 66", the theme to "The Untouchables", and the scores for the Rat Pack motion pictures "Robin and the 7 Hoods" and the original "Ocean's 11". In 1969, he arranged and conducted the music to the film "Paint Your Wagon", which starred a trio of non-singers, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In the latter half of the 1960s, the partnership between Riddle and Frank Sinatra grew more distant as Sinatra began increasingly to turn to Don Costa, Billy May and an assortment of other arrangers for his album projects. Although Riddle would write various arrangements for Sinatra until the late 1970s, "Strangers In The Night", released in 1966, was the last full album project the pair completed together. The collection of Riddle-arranged songs was intended to expand on the success of the title track, which had been a number one hit single for Sinatra arranged by Ernie Freeman.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: During the 1970s, Riddle's film and television efforts included the score for the 1974 version of "The Great Gatsby", which earned him his first Academy Award, after some five nominations. In 1973, he served as musical director for the Emmy Award winning "The Julie Andrews Hour". He wrote the theme songs for the 1972 television series "Emergency!" and the 1975 television series Caribe, and scored the 1977 miniseries "Seventh Avenue". The Nelson Riddle Orchestra also made numerous concert appearances throughout the 1970s, some of which were led and contracted by his good friend, Tommy Shepard.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: On March 14, 1977, Riddle conducted his last three arrangements for Sinatra. "Linda", "Sweet Lorraine", and "Barbara", were intended for an album of songs with women's names. The album was never completed. "Sweet Lorraine" was released in 1990 and the other two were included in "The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings", released in 1995.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1978 Riddle was Musical Director for the 50th Academy Awards ceremony, the only occasion on which he performed the task.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In December 1979, Riddle conducted and arranged "Something" for Sinatra's 1980 album "Trilogy". And in 1981, he also arranged and conducted the medley of "The Gal That Got Away" and "It Never Entered My Mind" for Sinatra's album "She Shot Me Down", which was the final time he worked for Frank.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: 1982 saw Riddle work for the last time with Ella Fitzgerald, on her last orchestral Pablo album, "The Best Is Yet to Come".


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle had composed most of the incidental music for "Newhart", and the show's 71st episode was dedicated to his memory.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In the spring of 1982, Riddle was approached by Linda Ronstadt — via telephone through her manager and producer, Peter Asher — to write arrangements for an album of jazz standards that Ronstadt had been contemplating since her stint in "The Pirates of Penzance". The agreement between the two resulted in a three-album contract which included what were to be the last arrangements of Riddle's career, with the exception of an album of twelve Great American Songbook standards he arranged and conducted for his old friend, opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa, in April 1985, six months before his death that October. Ronstadt recalls that when she initially approached Riddle, she did not know if he was even familiar with her music. He knew her name, but basically hated rock 'n' roll. However, his daughter was a big Linda Ronstadt fan and told her father, "Don't worry, Dad. Her checks won't bounce."


title: Nelson Riddle

text: When Riddle learned of Ronstadt's desire to learn more about traditional pop music and agreed to record with her, he insisted on a complete album or nothing. He explained to Ronstadt that he had once turned down Paul McCartney, who had sought him out to write an arrangement for one of McCartney's albums, "I just couldn't do it. You can't put something like that in the middle of a bunch of other things. The mood comes and then it changes. It's like putting a picture in a bad frame." Riddle was at first skeptical of Ronstadt's proposed project, but once he agreed, his career turned around immediately. For her to do "elevator music", as she called it, was a great surprise to the young audience. Joe Smith, the president of Elektra, was terrified that the albums would turn off the rock audience. The three albums together sold over seven million copies and brought Riddle back to a young audience during the last three years of his life. Arrangements for Linda Ronstadt's "What's New" (1983) and "Lush Life" (1984) won Riddle his second and third Grammy Awards.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: On January 19, 1985, Riddle conducted at the nationally televised 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala, the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. The program was hosted by Frank Sinatra, who sang "Fly Me to the Moon" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" (backed by a solo dance routine by Mikhail Baryshnikov).


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Working with Ronstadt, Riddle brought his career back into focus in the last three years of his life. Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wrote, "What's New" "isn't the first album by a rock singer to pay tribute to the golden age of pop, but is ... the best and most serious attempt to rehabilitate an idea of pop that Beatlemania and the mass marketing of rock LPs for teen-agers undid in the mid-60s ... In the decade prior to Beatlemania, most of the great band singers and crooners of the 40s and 50s codified a half-century of American pop standards on dozens of albums ... many of them now long out-of-print." "What's New" is the first album by a rock singer to have major commercial success in rehabilitating the Great American Songbook.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle's third and final Grammy was awarded posthumously—and accepted on his behalf by Linda Ronstadt just prior to airtime—in early 1986. Ronstadt subsequently presented the evening's first on-air award, at which time she narrated a tribute to the departed maestro.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Riddle married his first wife, Doreen Moran, in 1945, while in the Army. The couple had six children. Riddle had an extra-marital affair with singer Rosemary Clooney in the 1960s, which contributed to the breakup of their respective marriages.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1968, Riddle separated from his wife Doreen; their divorce became official in 1970. A few months later he married Naomi Tenenholtz, then his secretary, with whom he would remain for the rest of his life. Riddle's children are dispersed between the east and west coasts of the United States, with Nelson Jr. residing in London, England and married to British actress Paula Wilcox. Riddle's eldest daughter, Rosemary, is the trustee of the Nelson Riddle Trust.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In a 1982 radio interview on WNEW with Jonathan Schwartz, Riddle cited Stan Kenton's "23 Degrees North, 82 Degrees West" arranged by Bill Russo as inspiration for his signature trombone interplay crescendos.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: In 1985, Riddle died in Los Angeles, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at age 64 of cardiac and kidney failure as a result of cirrhosis, with which he had been diagnosed five years earlier. His cremated remains are inurned at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California in the Hall of David Mausoleum.


title: Nelson Riddle

text: Following Riddle's death, his last three arrangements for Ronstadt's "For Sentimental Reasons" album were conducted by Terry Woodson; the album was released in 1986. In February 1986, Riddle's youngest son Christopher, himself an accomplished bass trombonist, assumed the leadership of his father's orchestra. Following the death of Riddle's second wife Naomi in 1998, proceeds from the sale of the Riddle home in Bel Air were used to establish a Nelson Riddle Endowed Chair and library at the University of Arizona, which officially opened in 2001. The opening showcased a gala concert of Riddle's works, with Ronstadt as a featured guest performer. In 2000, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops released a Nelson Riddle tribute album on Telarc Records titled "Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound". The album showcased expanded orchestral adaptations of the original arrangements provided by the Nelson Riddle Archives, and was presented in a state-of-the-art digital recording that was among the first titles to be released on multi-channel SACD.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: My Life is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on November 29, 1994, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. Many of the topics on "My Life" deal with clinical depression, Blige's battling with both drugs and alcohol, as well as being in an abusive relationship. Unlike her debut, "What's the 411?" (1992), Blige contributed lyrics to fourteen of the album's tracks, making it her most introspective and personal album at the time. Similar to her debut album, "My Life" features vast production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: Considered to be her breakthrough album, "My Life" became Mary J. Blige's second album to reach the top ten on the "Billboard" 200 chart, peaking at number seven, and debuting at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it stayed for eight weeks. In 1996, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 38th Grammy Awards, while in December of the same year, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of three million copies in the United States. It also won the 1995 "Billboard" Music Award for Top R&B Album. In 1996, following the album's success, MCA issued a remix EP entitled "My Life Remix Album" which featured artists such as LL Cool J and Lauryn Hill.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: Following the success of her debut album, "What's the 411?", and a remixed version in 1993, Blige went into the recording studio in the winter of 1993 to record her second album, "My Life". Producer Chucky Thompson was brought in and had originally been contracted to produce one song and an interlude for the project. He ended up being a last minute replacement as the producers Blige worked with previously on "What's the 411?" demanded more money when the album was certified triple platinum. Blige loved the one song Thompson produced for her, which made Combs change the direction of the album.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: Combs called recording engineer Prince Charles Alexander out of the blue after Jodeci went to record "Diary of a Mad Band". Alexander was brought in at the end of the record, after working on albums by other artists on Bad Boy Entertainment, such as Total, The Notorious B.I.G. and 112. In the middle of recording "My Life", Combs suggested covering Rose Royce's 1977 hit "I'm Going Down", which he wanted Alexander to handle the session. However, the two butted heads over production credit issues, as Combs wanted to give credit to himself and Thompson, although neither were present for the song's recording session. Alexander fought hard to seek production credit from Combs and the two battled it out over the phone over the issue. Combs later explained it was due to receiving a flat royalty rate for producing the majority of the songs and Alexander's production credit would have interfered with the royalty rate. To circumvent this issue, Alexander insisted on having two more sessions with Bad Boy acts. One of the other songs he produced was another Rose Royce cover – "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" for Faith Evans' 1995 debut "Faith". Alexander was later called back in to do some mixing and recording.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: On the song "K. Murray Interlude", it originally featured The Notorious B.I.G.. He was taken off due to the song's lyrical content, which would have forced Uptown Records to release the album with a Parental Advisory sticker. Rapper Keith Murray was the replacement, while The Notorious B.I.G.'s verse would be released as the song "Who Shot Ya".


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: The album was a breakthrough for Blige, who at this point was in a clinical depression, battling both drugs and alcohol as well as being in an abusive relationship with singer K-Ci Hailey. In this period, Blige would once again dominate the charts with her singles: the Top 40 hit "Be Happy", a cover version of "I'm Goin' Down" and "You Bring Me Joy". The album uses primary soul samples from R&B musicians such as Curtis Mayfield, Roy Ayers, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Rick James, and his protégés, the Mary Jane Girls.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: "NME" wrote that the beats "reign supreme" and commended Blige for "telling her audience she grew up the same way they did, listened to the same things, was influenced by the same situations." "Village Voice" critic Robert Christgau gave it a three-star honorable mention, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure". He cited "Mary Jane" and "I'm Going Down" as highlights while calling the album "an around-the-way girl's recipe for happiness". In a mixed review, Jonathan Bernstein of "Spin" found most of the songs too "ordinary" and felt that Blige's compositions "give her space to stretch out and emote, but for all the melody they possess they might as well be breathing exercises." Connie Johnson was more critical in the "Los Angeles Times", finding it "drab" and devoid of attitude from Blige, who "doesn't add her own hard-core signature to any significant degree".


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: In 2002, "My Life" was ranked number 57 on "Blender"s list of the 100 greatest American albums of all-time. The following year, "Rolling Stone" placed it at number 279 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 281 on a 2012 revised list, and 126 on a 2020 list. In 2006, the record was included in "Time"s 100 greatest albums of all-time list.


title: My Life (Mary J. Blige album)

text: "My Life" debuted at number nine on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, and eventually peaked at number seven. The album also debuted at number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and it spent a total of eight weeks at the top of that chart. The album would ultimately go on to spend 46 weeks on the "Billboard" 200 Albums Chart and 84 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album also charted in Canada peaking at number 37 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and at number 59 on the UK Albums Chart. On December 13, 1995, "My Life" was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of three million copies in the United States.


title: Calm (company)

text: Calm is a software company based in San Francisco, California. It produces meditation products, including guided meditations and "Sleep Stories o"n its subscription-based app"."


title: Calm (company)

text: Calm was founded on May 4, 2012 by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew. Tamara Levitt became the Head of Mindfulness in November 2014 and is one of the app's primary narrators.


title: Calm (company)

text: The company generated $22 million in revenue in 2017 and reached an annual revenue run rate of $75 million. , Calm had raised $1.5M in angel investments.


title: Calm (company)

text: As of February 2019, the company was valued at $1 Billion and had raised $116 million, with contributions from existing investors, including Insight Venture Partners, Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, and Creative Artists Agency.


title: Calm (company)

text: Calm was Apple's "App of the Year" in 2017, and was ranked by "Inc." as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America in 2018.


title: Calm (company)

text: In February 2022, Calm acquired Ripple Health Group, a technology company which connects users with proper healthcare options. The acquisition will focus on building "Calm Health", which will replace the company's existing employer offering, "Calm for Business".


title: Calm (company)

text: "Calm Health" was released in October 2022 and offered through traditional healthcare providers, payers, and self-insured employers. It will initially be offered to patients suffering from anxiety or depression. The company plans to add mental health programs for those with other physical conditions.


title: Calm (company)

text: Calm produces meditation products, including guided meditations, a book, narrated "Sleep Stories", and health and meditation videos. Their primary product is the meditation app, available on iPhone and Android devices.


title: Calm (company)

text: The meditation area offers breathing exercises, a daily meditation, several multi-day programs, and unguided and guided meditation sessions.


title: Calm (company)

text: On December 1, 2016, Calm launched an initial range of 23 "Sleep Stories", with the aim of helping adult listeners sleep.


title: Calm (company)

text: "Sleep Stories" include archival recordings of Bob Ross, classical and ambient music including compositions by Johannes Brahms, Sigur Rós, deadmau5, and Moby, as well as original stories and public domain fiction read by narrators including LeBron James, Stephen Fry, Lucy Liu, Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beatie Wolfe, Danai Gurira, Joanna Lumley, Jerome Flynn, Terry W. Virts, Rosè, Keith Morrison, Tom Hiddleston, Clarke Peters, , Cillian Murphy, Kelly Rowland, ASMR content creator Emma "WhispersRed" Smith, "League of Legends" voice actor Erik Braa, Peter Jefferson, Freema Agyeman, Eva Green, LeVar Burton, Laura Dern, Nick Offerman, Harry Styles and Matthew McConaughey. Leona Lewis contributed narration to the sleep stories in 2018, supporting (RED)'s Global Fund to end AIDS.


title: Calm (company)

text: Jay Shetty, the company's chief purpose officer, hosts a short mindfulness message called "The Daily Jay."


title: Pehlwani

text: Pehlwani, (पहलवानी) also known as Kushti, is a form of wrestling contested in South Asia. It was developed in the Mughal Empire by combining Persian Koshti pahlevani with influences from native Indian Malla-yuddha. The words "pehlwani" and "kushti" derive from the Persian terms "pahlavani" (heroic) and "koshti" (wrestling, lit. killing) respectively, meaning Heroic wrestling. A practitioner of this sport is referred to as a "pehlwan" (Persian word for "hero") while teachers are known as ustad (Persian word for "teacher" or "master").


title: Pehlwani

text: One of the most famous practitioners of Pehlwani was The Great Gama (Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt), who is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Kodi Rammurthy Naidu was another example. Brahmdev Mishra was also a great example of Indian wrestler who was known for his technique and physique not only in India but all over the world. Pehlwani is one among the sports that influenced catch wrestling, which in turn partially inspired folkstyle wrestling, freestyle wrestling, and mixed martial arts (MMA).


title: Pehlwani

text: The ancient Indian form of wrestling is called malla-yuddha. Practiced at least since the 5th millennium BC, described in the 13th century treatise Malla Purana, it was the precursor of modern Kushti.


title: Pehlwani

text: In the 16th century, northern India was conquered by the Central Asian Mughals, who were of Turko-Mongol descent. Through the influence of Iranian and Mongolian wrestling, given time, the local malla-yuddha was supplanted by Persian Koshti. Interestingly, the aspects of Malla-yuddha survived in the culture of the Akhad (wrestling academy): Students are expected to be vegetarian, cook, take care of the facility, and be celibate.


title: Pehlwani

text: Babur, the first Mughal emperor, was a wrestler himself and could reportedly run very fast for a long distance while holding a man under each arm. Mughal-era wrestlers sometimes even wore bagh naka on one hand, in a variation called "naki ka kushti" or "claw wrestling".


title: Pehlwani

text: During the late 17th century, Ramadasa travelled the country encouraging Hindus to be physically active in homage to the great god Hanuman. Maratha rulers supported Kushti by offering large sums of prize money for tournament champions. It was said that every Maratha boy at the time could wrestle and even women took up the sport. During the colonial period, local princes sustained the popularity of kushti by hosting matches and competitions. Wrestling was the favourite spectator sport of the Rajputs, and were said to look forward to tournaments "with great anxiety". Every Rajput prince or chief had a number of wrestling champions to compete for his entertainment. The greatest wrestling centres were said to be Uttar Pradesh and the Panjab.


title: Pehlwani

text: In 1909, a Bengali merchant named Abdul Jabbar Saudagar intended to unite the local youth and inspire them in the anti-British struggle against the colonists through a display of strength by holding a wrestling tournament. Known as Jabbar-er Boli Khela, this competition has continued through independence and the subsequent partition. It is still held in Bangladesh every Boishakhi Mela (Bengali new year), accompanied by playing of the traditional "sanai" (flute) and "dabor" (drum), and is one of Chittagong's oldest traditions.


title: Pehlwani

text: In the more recent past, India had famous wrestlers of the class of the Great Gama (of British India and later Pakistan, after partition) and Gobar Goho. India reached its peak of glory in the IV Asian Games (later on called Jakarta Games) in 1962 when all the seven wrestlers were placed on the medal list and in between them they won 12 medals in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. A repetition of this performance was witnessed again when all the 8 wrestlers sent to the Commonwealth Games held at Kingston, Jamaica had the distinction of getting medals for the country. During the 60s, India was ranked among the first eight or nine wrestling nations of the world and hosted the world wrestling championships in New Delhi in 1967.


title: Pehlwani

text: Pehlwans who compete in wrestling nowadays are also known to cross train in the grappling aspects of judo and jujutsu. Legendary wrestlers from the bygone era like Karl Gotch have made tours to India to learn kushti and further hone their skills. Karl Gotch was even gifted a pair of (heavy wooden clubs used for building the arm and shoulder muscles by South Asian wrestlers). The conditioning exercises of pehlwani have been incorporated into many of the conditioning aspects of both catch wrestling and shoot wrestling, along with their derivative systems.


title: Pehlwani

text: Although wrestling in the Indian subcontinent saw changes in the Mughal era and the colonial period, the training regimen has remained the same for over 150 years. Fledgling wrestlers may start as early as 6, but most begin formal training in their teens. They are sent to an akhara or traditional wrestling school where they are put under the apprenticeship of the local guru. Their only training attire is the kowpeenam or loincloth.


title: Pehlwani

text: "Vyayam" or physical training is meant to build strength and develop muscle bulk and flexibility. Exercises that employ the wrestler's own bodyweight include the Surya Namaskara, shirshasana, and the danda, which are also found in hatha yoga, as well as the bethak. Sawari (from Persian "savâri", meaning "the passenger") is the practice of using another person's body weight to add resistance to such exercises.


title: Pehlwani

text: Exercise regimens may also include which involve twisting rotations, rope climbing, log pulling and running. Massage is regarded an integral part of a wrestler's exercise regimen.


title: Pehlwani

text: According to the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, everything in the universe—including people, activities, and foods—can be sorted into three gunas: sattva (calm/good), rajas (passionate/active), and tamas (dull/lethargic).


title: Pehlwani

text: As a vigorous activity, wrestling has an inherently rajasic nature, which pehlwan counteract through the consumption of sattvic foods. Milk and ghee are regarded as the most sattvic of foods and, along with almonds, constitute the holy trinity of the "pehlwani khurak" (from Persian خوراک پهلوانی "khorâk-e pahlavâni"), or diet. A common snack for pehlwan are chickpeas that have been sprouted overnight in water and seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon; the water in which the chickpeas were sprouted is also regarded as nutritious. Various articles in the Indian wrestling monthly "Bharatiya Kushti" have recommended the consumption of the following fruits: apples, wood-apples, bananas, figs, pomegranates, gooseberries, lemons, and watermelons. Orange juice and green vegetables are also recommended for their sattvic nature. Many pehlwan eat meat due to its high protein content. Famed pehlwan Dara Singh used to eat more than a pound of meat every day.


title: Pehlwani

text: Ideally, wrestlers are supposed to avoid sour and excessively spiced foods such as chatni and achar as well as chaat. Mild seasoning with garlic, cumin, coriander, and turmeric is acceptable. The consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and paan is strongly discouraged.


title: Pehlwani

text: It has been said that most of the moves found in the wrestling forms of other countries are present in kushti, and some are unique to the Indian subcontinent. These are primarily locks, throws, pins, and submission holds. Unlike its ancient ancestor malla-yuddha, kushti does not permit strikes or kicks during a match. Among the most favoured manoeuvres are the "dhobi paat" (shoulder throw) and the "kasauta" (strangle pin). Other moves include the "baharli", "dhak", "machli gota" and the "multani".


title: Pehlwani

text: Wrestling competitions known as "dangal" or "kushti", are held in villages and as such are variable and flexible. The area is either a circular or square shape, measuring at least fourteen feet across. Rather than using modern mats, South Asian wrestlers train and compete on dirt floors. Before training, the floor is raked of any pebbles or stones. Buttermilk, oil, and red ochre are sprinkled to the ground, giving the dirt its red hue. Water is added every few days to keep it at the right consistency; soft enough to avoid injury but hard enough so as not to impede the wrestlers' movements. Every match is preceded by the wrestlers throwing a few handfuls of dirt from the floor on themselves and their opponent as a form of blessing. Despite the marked boundaries of the arena, competitors may go outside the ring during a match with no penalty. There are no rounds but the length of every bout is specified beforehand, usually about 25–30 minutes. If both competitors agree, the length of the match may be extended. Match extensions are typically around 10–15 minutes. Unlike mat-based wrestling, there is no point scoring system; a win is achieved by pinning the opponent's shoulders and hips to the ground simultaneously, although victory by knockout, stoppage or submission is also possible. In some variations of the rules, only pinning the shoulders down is enough. Bouts are overseen by a referee inside the ring and a panel of two judges watching from the outside.


title: Pehlwani

text: Official titles awarded to kushti champions are as follows. Note that the title Rustam is actually the name of an Iranian hero from the "Shahnameh" epic.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lanes the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly spaced around the track. The hurdles are positioned and weighted so that they fall forward if bumped into with sufficient force, to prevent injury to the runners. Although there is no longer any penalty for knocking hurdles over, runners prefer to clear them cleanly, as touching them during the race slows runners down.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The best male athletes can run the 400 m hurdles in a time of around 46 seconds, while the very best female athletes achieve a time of around 51 seconds. The current men's and women's world record holders are Karsten Warholm with 45.94 seconds and Sydney McLaughlin with 50.68 seconds. Compared to the 400 metres run, the hurdles race takes the men about three seconds longer and the women four seconds longer (except for Sydney McLaughlin). Men clear hurdles that are high, while women negotiate barriers.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The 400 m hurdles was held for both sexes at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The first championship for women came at the 1980 World Championships in Athletics – being held as a one-off due to the lack of a race at the 1980 Summer Olympics.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The first awards in a 400 m hurdles race were given in 1860 when a race was held in Oxford, England, over a course of 440 yards (402.336 m). While running the course, participants had to clear twelve wooden hurdles, over 100 centimetres tall, that had been spaced in even intervals.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: To reduce the risk of injury, somewhat more lightweight constructions were introduced in 1895 that runners could push over. However, until 1935 runners were disqualified if they pushed over more than three hurdles in a race and records were only officially accepted if the runner in question had cleared all hurdles clean and left them all standing.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The 400 m hurdles became an Olympic event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. At the same time, the race was standardized; thus, virtually identical races could be held and the finish times compared to one other. As a result, the official distance was fixed to 400 metres, or one lap of the stadium, and the number of hurdles was reduced to ten. The official height of the hurdles was set to . The hurdles are now placed on the course with a run-up to the first hurdle of 45 metres, distance between the hurdles of 35 metres each, and home stretch from the last hurdle to finish line of 40 metres.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: The first documented 400 m hurdles race for women took place in 1971. In 1974, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, introduced the event officially as a discipline, with hurdles at the lower height of . The women's race was not run at the Olympics until the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles where it was first staged with the first Men's World Champion having been crowned the year before at the inaugural World Athletics Championships. A special edition of the Women's 400m Hurdles took place in the 1980 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in response to the Women's 400m Hurdles not being included at the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and Liberty Bell Classic.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: Many athletic commentators and officials have often brought up the idea of lifting the height of the women's 400 m hurdles to incorporate a greater requirement of hurdling skill. This is a view held by German athletic coach Norbert Stein, "All this means that the women's hurdles for specialists, who are the target group to be dealt with in this discussion, is considerably depreciated in skill demands when compared to the men's hurdles. It should not be possible in the women's hurdles that the winner is an athlete whose performance in the flat sprint is demonstrably excellent but whose technique of hurdling is only moderate and whose anthropometric characteristics are not optimal. This was the case at the World Championships in Seville and the same problem can often be seen at international and national meetings."


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: In terms of technique and endurance, the 400-metre hurdles is arguably the most demanding event in the sprints and hurdles group. Athletes must be able to run a fast 400-metre flat time, maintain a good hurdling technique, and have a unique awareness of stride pattern between hurdles. Furthermore, athletes must possess anaerobic endurance over the final 150 to 100 metres of the race as, at this point, lactate (the conjugate base of lactic acid) will accumulate in the body from anaerobic glycolysis.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: When preparing to hurdle, the blocks should be set so that the athlete arrives at the first hurdle leading on the desired leg without inserting a stutter step. A stutter step is when the runner has to chop his or her stride down to arrive on the "correct" leg for take off. Throughout the race, any adjustments to stride length stride speed should be made several strides out from the hurdle because a stutter or being too far from the hurdle at takeoff will result in loss of momentum and speed.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: At the beginning of the take-off, the knee must be driven toward the hurdle and the foot then extended. The leg position when extended must be stretched out, in a position of a split. The knee should be slightly bent when crossing the hurdle. Unless an athlete's body has great flexibility, the knee must be slightly bent to allow a forward body lean. Unlike the 110m hurdles, a significant forward body lean is not that necessary due to the hurdles being lower. However, the trail leg must be kept bent and short to provide a quick lever action allowing a fast hurdle clearance. The knee should pull through under the armpit and should not be flat across the top of the hurdle.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: It is also important that the hurdler does not reach out on the last stride before the hurdle as this will result in a longer bound being made to clear the hurdle. This will also result in a loss of momentum if the foot lands well in front of the center of gravity.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: Using a left lead leg on the bends allows the hurdler to run closer to the inside of the lane and cover a shorter distance. Additionally, if the left leg is used for the lead, then the athlete's upper body can be leaned to the left, making it easier to bring the trail leg through. Additionally, an athlete hurdling with a right leg lead around the bends must take care that they do not inadvertently trail their foot or toe around the hurdle rather than passing over the top, which would lead to a disqualification from the race. Depending on the height and strength of the athlete, men work toward a stride pattern of 13 to 15 steps between each hurdle, and women work toward a stride pattern of 15 to 17. This does not include the landing step from the previous hurdle. Ed Moses was the first man to keep 13 strides throughout an entire race. Weaker athletes will typically hold a longer step pattern throughout the race so that they do not bound or reach with each step, which also results in a loss of speed. These patterns are ideal because it allows the hurdler to take off from their predominant leg throughout the race without switching legs. However, fatigue from the race will knock athletes off their stride pattern and force runners to switch legs. At an early age, many coaches train their athletes to hurdle with both legs. This is a useful skill to learn since as a runner tires, their stride length may decrease, resulting in the need either to add a stutter stride, or to take a hurdle on the other leg.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: Note: The following athletes have had their associated 400 m hurdles performances annulled due to doping offences:


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: American athlete Glenn Davis had a prodigious start to his hurdling career, running his first race in April 1956 in 54.4 s. Two months later, he ran a new world record with 49.5 s and later that year he won the 400 m hurdles at the Olympics, and was also the first to repeat that feat in 1960.


title: 400 metres hurdles

text: In terms of success and longevity in competition, Edwin Moses' record is significant: he won 122 races in a row between 1977 and 1987 plus two gold medals, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was undefeated for exactly nine years nine months and nine days, from 26 August 1977 until 4 June 1987. He finished third in the 1988 Olympic final, the last race of his career. He also held the world record for sixteen years from when he first broke it at the Olympics on 25 July 1976 until it was finally broken by Kevin Young at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.


title: GameCube controller

text: The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in numerous ways. The contentious M-shaped design of its predecessor was replaced with a more conventional handlebar style controller shape; a second analog stick was added, replacing the C buttons with a C stick and the X and Y face buttons, last seen on the Super Nintendo controller, were reintroduced; the shoulder buttons were changed to hybrid analog triggers. A wireless variant of the GameCube controller known as the WaveBird was released in 2002.


title: GameCube controller

text: Though many elements of the GameCube controller's unique design were not embraced by many future twin-stick gamepads (such as the pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons and a face button layout that emphasizes one button over three others), some controllers adopted its staggered analog stick layout. The GameCube controller continued to endure even beyond its system's launch cycle, gaining varying levels of support from its subsequent successor consoles.


title: GameCube controller

text: Years after the GameCube's discontinuation, Nintendo officially re-released the controller, with the international launch of the fourth and fifth installments of the "Super Smash Bros." series, "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," due to the persisting popularity of the GameCube controller in the "Super Smash Bros." community after the release of the critically-acclaimed "Super Smash Bros. Melee" in 2001.


title: GameCube controller

text: Released alongside the GameCube console, the standard GameCube controller has a wing grip design. This controller was bundled with all new GameCube systems throughout the console's life cycle and was also available separately. It connects to the console's controller ports via a cable.


title: GameCube controller

text: The standard GameCube controller provides haptic feedback by way of a built-in rumble motor rather than using an external Rumble Pak add-on like the Nintendo 64 controller. Also unlike its predecessor, it does not feature any expansion capabilities.


title: GameCube controller

text: The controller features a total of six digital buttons, two staggered analog sticks, a directional pad and two hybrid analog and digital triggers. The primary analog stick is on the left, with the D-pad below it. The four face buttons are on the right side of the controller with a large green button in the center, flanked by a smaller red button to its bottom left and two kidney-shaped buttons to its right () and top (); below the face buttons is a yellow stick. A Start/Pause button is located in the middle of the controller. On the "shoulders" of the controller are two pressure-sensitive analog triggers marked and , as well as one digital button marked which sits in front of the trigger. The and triggers feature both analog and digital capabilities: each behaves as a typical analog trigger until fully depressed, at which point the button "clicks" to register an additional digital signal. This method effectively serves to provide two functions per button without actually adding two separate physical buttons.


title: GameCube controller

text: The GameCube controller was sold in several different colors over the console's lifespan. Standard colors included "Indigo" (dark royal purple), "Jet Black", and "Platinum" (Silver), which were bundled with their respective colored GameCube consoles and sold separately in many countries. Other standard colors sold separately included "Spice" (Orange), "Indigo/Clear" (Indigo top with a clear translucent bottom), "Emerald Blue" (Turquoise), and White; the latter two colors are available exclusively in Japan.


title: GameCube controller

text: Nintendo released a number of limited edition controllers in Japan through Club Nintendo, which featured a unique color scheme and/or logo in the center. Club Nintendo controllers could be purchased for 500 points each and designs included "Mario" (red top and blue bottom), "Luigi" (green top and blue bottom), "Wario" (yellow top and purple bottom) and a "Club Nintendo" controller (white top and light blue bottom). The "Mario" design was also made available in limited quantities through the European Stars Catalogue for 5000 points.


title: GameCube controller

text: A number of limited edition GameCube consoles have been released which included matching controllers. Colors released in Japan include "Starlight Gold", "Crystal White", "Symphonic Green" (mint green), "Hanshin Tigers" (black with Hanshin Tigers logo), "Gundam Copper" (two-tone red with "Gundam" logo), and "Transparent" which is in the "Enjoy Plus Pack +" bundle. The "Symphonic Green" and "Crystal White" colors were also released in Europe, although the latter was renamed "Pearl White" and bundled with "Mario Smash Football". A "Resident Evil 4" controller (silver top and black bottom with logo) was available in Europe as part of a limited edition "Resident Evil 4" console bundle. The Panasonic Q, a GameCube/DVD player hybrid exclusive to Japan, came bundled with a grey Panasonic branded version of the controller. The controller has the Panasonic logo on it instead of the Nintendo GameCube text.


title: GameCube controller

text: The WaveBird Wireless Controller, released in 2002, is a radio frequency-based wireless controller based on the same design as the standard controller. It communicates with the GameCube console wirelessly through a receiver dongle connected to one of its controller ports. It is powered by two AA batteries. As a power-conservation measure, the WaveBird lacks the rumble function of the standard controller. The WaveBird came in two colors, gray and silver (Platinum).


title: GameCube controller

text: A specially-designed variant of the GameCube controller was created for the LodgeNet in some North American hotels. The controller can be used for pay-per-play access to select GameCube games. In addition to the standard GameCube controller inputs, the LodgeNet controller also includes six additional buttons which are used to control the on-screen game selection interface. The controller cannot be used on regular GameCube hardware.


title: GameCube controller

text: The Nintendo 64 controller received mixed impressions, being lauded for standardizing the controls for 3D movement with its analog stick and for its comfortable design, but derided for its bulkiness and overall layout. Shigeru Miyamoto designed the GameCube controller in a span of at least three years—the longest he had spent on any controller at that time—with the goal being to accommodate as many people as possible, regardless of their age, the size of their hands, and whether they have any experience in playing video games with a gamepad. The controller had seen at least four or five versions during its development cycle, and each build would be radically different on a monthly basis, containing new ideas and discarding old ones.


title: GameCube controller

text: Miyamoto's first idea was to redesign the controller's four rhombus-positioned face buttons, a standard he had set when he designed the SNES controller. The green button was made the largest to give the holder the idea that it performs the primary function. That button would be surrounded by a smaller red button to the left and two colorless kidney-shaped and buttons to the top and right, respectively. The button was initially also kidney-shaped before it was made a circle. According to Ashida Kenichiro, one of the GameCube console's hardware designers, the controller was intended to be intuitive to the point where the player would forget they were holding it, but achieving that and adding many features proved difficult. As games transitioned to 3D graphics, Nintendo debated whether the controller needed a D-pad anymore. Ultimately, they settled on keeping it at the bottom right of the primary analog stick. They also settled on replacing the four buttons with a second analog stick, and placed it on the bottom left of the face buttons. The player's thumbs were meant to naturally rest on the primary analog stick and the button, from which the player can move them in a downward arc to reach the D-pad and secondary stick.


title: GameCube controller

text: The GameCube controller was released to Japan on September 14, 2001; to North America on November 18; to Europe on May 3, 2002; and to Australia on May 17. It was made available in numerous colors to boost its sales, following the same course as the Nintendo 64 due to the latter's improved performance.


title: GameCube controller

text: While unlicensed third-party GameCube controllers have been on the market, they have been criticized for generally being made of lower quality products than Nintendo's official GameCube controllers. The official controllers have become scarce at retailers, as an increased demand of the controller started due to the Wii's backward compatibility with GameCube games and the fact that several Wii games support the controller as a primary method of control. In response to the regained popularity, Nintendo re-launched the GameCube controller. These relaunched models of the controller have a cable, longer than the original models cable. These relaunched models also lack the metal braces inserted inside the controller's triggers to help push the triggers down, something which the original 2001-2007 manufactured GameCube controllers do have.


title: GameCube controller

text: In April 2008, Nintendo released a white GameCube controller exclusively in Japan. It differs from previous editions in that it features a white cable which is long, rather than the black cable used on standard controllers. This model also lacks the metal braces inserted inside the L and R triggers (see above). This controller has not been released outside Japan, but online retailers such as Amazon and Play-Asia do import and sell the controller internationally.


title: GameCube controller

text: In 2014, the manufacturing production of the white controller was resumed under the "Super Smash Bros." branding, again exclusively in Japan.


title: GameCube controller

text: Nintendo of America continued to sell wired platinum controllers up until early 2012 in North America, but have since ceased production.


title: GameCube controller

text: The "Super Smash Bros." edition controller was released in 2014, in conjunction with the release of "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U". The controller features a metallic silver "Super Smash Bros." logo surrounded by flames instead of the GameCube logo. It came in black worldwide, although a white version was released in Japan. The controller has the same length cable as the 2008 re-release and also lacks the metal braces inserted inside the triggers (see above). Along with the release of the controller, Nintendo released a GameCube controller adapter for the Wii U. The adapter supports four GameCube controllers, and all original pads are supported. A second adapter can be hooked up to a console, allowing up to eight players to use a GameCube controller. The adapter is officially compatible with "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" only, and does not support any other Wii U software. Furthermore, the adapter also does not support Wii software running on the Wii U.


title: GameCube controller

text: During E3 2018, Nintendo confirmed it would re-issue the black GameCube controller for use with "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" for the Nintendo Switch as the game officially supports the controller (albeit in docked mode only, though it is still possible to play in tabletop mode via an adapter) like its Wii and Wii U predecessors. The controller has the same length cable as the 2008 and 2014 re-releases and also lacks the metal braces inserted inside the triggers (see above). The re-issued controller was released on November 2, 2018, and features a simplified variant "Super Smash Bros." emblem design. On the same day, Nintendo also re-released the official USB GameCube controller adapter, with a generic Nintendo embossed branding unlike the first edition that features the Wii U logo. The Wii U adapter released in 2014 also works on the Switch. The Switch itself and its games are capable of supporting the GameCube controller in both docked and handheld mode after a system update issued in October 2017. Though GameCube controllers are now supported as of the 4.0 firmware update, the Switch recognizes them as generic controllers. However, due to the lack of a minus button, the ZL button, clickable analogue sticks and motion sensors, players may have trouble playing games that use these features using a GameCube controller. This adapter is also forward-compatible with the Wii U, but just like with the Wii U adapter, it only supports "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" and does not support any other Wii U games and software, including backwards-compatibility with the Wii on the console.


title: GameCube controller

text: Due to the Wii's ability to use GameCube controller input, all official GameCube controllers can be used on the Wii. GameCube software played on the Wii requires the use of a GameCube controller. Wii software can be programmed to make full use of GameCube controllers. Nearly all Virtual Console games and certain Wii and WiiWare games have been designed to support GameCube controllers as input. However, some later Wii models, such as the Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini, lack support for GameCube software and accessories.


title: GameCube controller

text: Although the subsequent console, the Wii U, omits compatibility with GameCube software and hardware, Nintendo announced that an official adapter would be released that allows the use of up to four GameCube controllers on the Wii U via USB. Though its initial product listing stated it would be compatible with any Wii U game that supports the Wii U Pro Controller, Nintendo since corrected the listing, stating the adapter can only be used with "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" and would not be compatible with other Wii U or Wii software. The adapter launched alongside the game in November 2014, both separately and as part of a bundle with the game.


title: GameCube controller

text: Support for the adapter on Nintendo Switch was introduced via its 4.0 firmware update. Though the Switch itself only supports it in docked mode, there are third-party accessories that allow it to connect in tabletop mode. Unlike the Wii U, it is supported by any game, although the Switch recognizes it as a Pro Controller and functionality may be affected if a game utilizes buttons not found on the GameCube controller. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", "Super Mario 3D All-Stars" and "Grid Autosport" are among the Switch games that recognizes them as a GameCube controller in-game.


title: GameCube controller

text: Accessory maker Performance Designed Products (PDP) began releasing a line of officially licensed "Wired Fight Pad" controllers for the Wii and Wii U in 2014, with color schemes based on various Nintendo characters. They are based on the design and layout of the GameCube controller, but are connected via the Wii Remote's expansion port and act identically to a Classic Controller Pro (thus supporting any Wii and Wii U game that supports the Classic Controller Pro, but not GameCube games). To provide parity with the Classic Controller Pro, these controllers feature dual shoulder buttons, as well as the "+", "−", and "Home" buttons standard on Wii controllers. The smaller C-stick is also replaced with a more standard analog stick. Hori released a similar product line known as the "Battle Pad". Unlike PDP, Hori's controllers look identical to real GameCube controllers while also including the same features of the PDP controllers. Both the PDP "Wired Fight Pad" and the Hori "Battle Pad" will work on the NES Classic and the SNES Classic.


title: GameCube controller

text: In anticipation of "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate", both Hori and PDP unveiled similar replications as USB gamepads for Nintendo Switch, both officially licensed. As with their Wii U counterparts, they maintain similar designs and appearance to the standard GameCube controllers, but updated to include dual shoulder buttons and Switch system buttons.


title: GameCube controller

text: PowerA released a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller with the GameCube controller layout but with additional inputs standard on Switch controllers, allowing it to be used in all Switch games. This controller was officially licensed by Nintendo and is available wireless and wired.


title: GameCube controller

text: Anascape Ltd, a Texas-based firm, filed a lawsuit against Nintendo for patent infringements regarding many of Nintendo's controllers. A July 2008 verdict found that a ban would be issued preventing Nintendo from selling the regular GameCube and WaveBird controllers in the United States. Nintendo was free to continue selling the controllers pending an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On April 13, 2010, Nintendo won the appeal and the previous court decision was reversed.


title: Big Jake

text: Big Jake is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years. It grossed $7.5 million in the US, making it one of the biggest hits of that year. The supporting cast features Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Glenn Corbett, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr. and Hank Worden.


title: Big Jake

text: In 1909, near the Mexico-United States border, Martha McCandles runs a massive ranch with the help of her sons Jeff, Michael, and James. The Fain Gang (The Fain Brothers, the Devries Brothers, John Goodfellow, Kid Duffy, Breed O'Brien, Pop Dawson, and Trooper) attacks the ranch, brutally slaying many members of the staff. Jeff kills the Devries brothers, but is badly wounded; his son, Jacob "Little Jake" McCandles, is kidnapped before the gang flees to Mexico, leaving behind a ransom note for $1 million ($30.6 million today).


title: Big Jake

text: Martha places the ransom in a strongbox, and delegates from both the United States Army and the Texas Rangers offer to take the box for her. Martha decides instead to send for her estranged husband Jacob "Big Jake" McCandles, who wanders the west as a gunfighter with his black Rough Collie mix, simply named "Dog". Jake arrives and they confer in secret about what to do with the box.


title: Big Jake

text: Michael McCandles, the youngest son, arrives on a motorcycle with news he has found the kidnappers. Martha decides to allow him and his older brother James to set off with the Rangers in REO Runabouts to try to overtake the kidnappers. Jake disapproves, and sets off with the box, a mule, packhorses, and his elderly Apache friend Sam Sharpnose, preferring to do things the old fashioned way.


title: Big Jake

text: The kidnappers ambush the Rangers, killing three of them and putting the cars out of commission. Jake allows his two sons to accompany him. Relations are strained between Jake and James after the former's long absence from home, but Michael is delighted to see his father again and impresses him with his skill as a sharpshooter. However, Jake is put off by Michael's more modern and genteel ways.


title: Big Jake

text: John Fain, pretending to be only a messenger boy, intercepts the group and warns them bandits are now after the box. He tells them the gang will kill Little Jake if Big Jake (who pretends to be a hired hand during the encounter) doesn't do things exactly the gang's way. He gives them further instructions on where the exchange will take place, in the town of Escondero.


title: Big Jake

text: On arrival, the family checks into a hotel and lays a trap for the bandits, killing them. During the attack, the strongbox is accidentally opened, revealing the money has been replaced by newspaper clippings. Both boys believe Jake has stolen the money, until Jake reminds them of the people that were killed by the Fain Gang, and that their brother Jeff has also been badly and possibly fatally wounded. He tells them that he and Martha, refusing to pay for that, took the money out.


title: Big Jake

text: Pop Dawson arrives with a message to meet the gang with the money in an old fort outside town. He tells them the rules - they are to ride together, and not try anything until after the gang has left with the money, because their own sharpshooter Duffy is hidden far away with a rifle trained on Little Jake at all times. Big Jake convinces Dawson that Michael was killed by the bandits, so he, James, Sam, and Dog follow Dawson to the fort.


title: Big Jake

text: Fain reveals he is the ringleader, and reiterates Dawson's threats. Jake throws the key to Fain while Michael gets into position atop the fort with his rifle. Just as Fain opens the chest and realizes the deception, Big Jake opens fire and kills Fain's brother Will, who is holding Little Jake. Michael takes out Duffy, Sam kills Trooper, and James shoots down Dawson and O'Brien but breaks his hand.


title: Big Jake

text: Fain and Big Jake find themselves both wounded and in a stalemate from behind their respective hiding places, and Big Jake tells his grandson to run to James. Goodfellow slashes Sam and Dog with his machete, killing the Indian, and pursues Little Jake into a stable, where Dog attacks Goodfellow a second time and is killed. Big Jake, out of bullets, makes a run for it and kills Goodfellow with a pitchfork in the stables.


title: Big Jake

text: John Fain corners the weaponless grandfather and grandson outside the stable, but Michael, having come down from his perch, shoots Fain from behind. As Fain dies, Big Jake finally reveals his true identity to him, and to Little Jake, who has never met his grandfather before. Reunited at last, the family acknowledges their renewed bond and prepares to go home.


title: Big Jake

text: Written as "The Million Dollar Kidnapping", which was used as the shooting title, it was filmed from early October to early December 1970, in the Mexican states of Durango and Zacatecas, including scenes shot at the El Saltito waterfall and in the Sierra de Órganos National Park.


title: Big Jake

text: John Wayne's son, Patrick, portrays James McCandles. Robert Mitchum's son, Christopher, portrays Michael McCandles. Wayne's youngest son, Ethan, portrays Little Jake.


title: Big Jake

text: Howard Thompson of "The New York Times" encouraged theatergoers to "stick it out" until the exciting climax, which the rest of the film was a "long prelude" to that "simply jogs along fairly tediously on the rescue trail, with the star being his laconic self, plus conventional spurts of violence, likewise the saddle humor." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and wrote, "With a little bit of restraint, the latest John Wayne Western, 'Big Jake,' might have been one of the veteran star's recent best. The most obvious excess, and this is unusual for a John Wayne film, is violence." Arthur D. Murphy of "Variety" wrote that the film had "[a]n above-average script, plus excellent direction by vet George Marshall and superior photography by William Clothire on Mexican locations," but was "gratuitously violent far beyond the legitimate requirements of the action plot." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" stated, "To say that 'Big Jake' is a typical John Wayne western is pretty much to say it all. His fans should be well-satisfied with its tried and true combination of action and comedy. 'Big Jake' is scarcely distinguished but is certainly enjoyable." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" called it "a rather insufferable sort of 'typical' Wayne vehicle" with "an undercurrent of vindictiveness that spoils the ostensible humor. It's obvious that young actors are needed to appeal to younger viewers and to perform the kinds of physical action that require youth and dexterity and that Wayne is just too visibly massive and slow to accomplish these days—but they're treated almost exclusively as stooges ... There's no good reason why the young leads in a Wayne picture shouldn't be allowed to function with at least as much importance and dignity as Ricky Nelson in 'Rio Bravo' or the young actor who played opposite Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in 'Ride the High Country' or, better yet, Montgomery Clift in 'Red River.'" Allen Eyles of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" declared, "Another genial celebration of Big John's ability to carry a film practically single-handed. Although supported by the group of dependables who usually appear in his films, as well as by a good proportion of his family, it is the Wayne personality—carefully catered for by the script—that accounts for most of the pleasure."


title: Big Jake

text: "Big Jake" was released to DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on April 29, 2003, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD and on May 31, 2011, as a Region 1 widescreen Blu-ray DVD.


title: Marion Stein

text: Maria Donata Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmine Stein, CBE (18 October 19266 March 2014), known as Marion Stein, and subsequently by marriage as Marion Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, and later Marion Thorpe, was an Austrian-born British concert pianist.


title: Marion Stein

text: Born in Vienna, Stein was of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Sophie Bachmann and musician Erwin Stein. She came to the UK just before the Second World War. She attended the Royal College of Music and became good friends with composer Benjamin Britten. By 1949, as Countess of Harewood, and with the patronage of her mother-in-law, Princess Mary, Stein was chatelaine of the Palladian Harewood House, north of Leeds, and threw herself into organising events.


title: Marion Stein

text: In March 1950, she created an opera-inspired fancy dress ball in aid of Britten's English Opera Group, featuring Frederick Ashton and Moira Shearer dancing the tango from the ballet "Façade". In September 1950, she was reported as being pregnant and, unusually for society women of the time, "planning to attend every night" of the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival which featured a performance by Britten. She was the joint founder in 1961 (along with Fanny Waterman) of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She also collaborated with Fanny Waterman on "Piano Lessons", a successful piano tutor.


title: Marion Stein

text: In 1973, she was a guest on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" and she was an occasional panellist on the BBC music quiz "Face the Music".


title: Marion Stein

text: Her first husband was George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, whom she married on 29 September 1949. The couple met at the Aldeburgh Festival. Lord Harewood, son of Mary, Princess Royal, was the grandson of King George V, the nephew of kings Edward VIII and George VI, and a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Marion gained the title Countess of Harewood. They had three sons:


title: Marion Stein

text: By 1959, there were serious problems in the marriage. Harewood began an affair with the violinist Patricia Tuckwell, but Stein rejected the idea of divorce until 1967, by which time Harewood had a son by Tuckwell. His adultery and remarriage made him a social outcast for several years, and it was 10 years before he was invited to any events by the Royal Family.


title: Marion Stein

text: Stein married her second husband, Jeremy Thorpe, on 14 March 1973. Thorpe was then a Member of Parliament and Leader of the Liberal Party. His first wife, Caroline, had been killed in a car accident in 1970. Marion Thorpe stood by her husband throughout the scandal of the late 1970s. In the mid-1980s, Jeremy Thorpe was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson's disease. Towards the end of her life, Marion Thorpe also had mobility problems.


title: Marion Stein

text: She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music, in particular the Leeds International Piano Competition.


title: Marion Stein

text: Marion Thorpe died on 6 March 2014 at the age of 87. Her husband survived her by nine months, dying on 4 December.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: Pulikkuthi Pandi is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama television film produced, written and directed by M. Muthaiah. The film stars Lakshmi Menon , Vikram Prabhu and Singampuli, with Samuthrakani, R.K. Suresh, Vela Ramamoorthy and Sujatha Sivakumar in supporting roles. The music for the film is composed by N. R. Raghunanthan. It was released as a television premiere directly in Sun TV on 15 January 2021 coinciding with Pongal and Vikram Prabhu's birthday. This film received positive reviews from audience as well as critics, where Lakshmi Menon received particular praise for her performance and role by the audience.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: Pandi is a rogue, who has close to 20 petty cases registered under his name in a police station. After meeting Pechi, Pandi decides to be a responsible person as he falls head over heels for her. Though he was ready to mend his ways, Pandi locks horns with Sannasi, a ruthless loan shark, after the latter misbehaves with Pechi and her father. Pandi, Pechi and her relatives face the wrath of Sannasi and his sons, where Pandi dies by being beheaded by Sannasi's son. Enraged, Pechi and her relatives kills Sannasi and his sons.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: The film was announced in September 2020 and the makers began production in the same month amid COVID-19 pandemic. Sun TV Network produced the film with a limited budget. The filmmakers initially titled the film as "Pechi" and began the principal photography, but was later changed to "Pulikkuthi Pandi." The film project marked the second collaboration between Vikram Prabhu and Lakshmi Menon after "Kumki" (2012). It also marked the first film project for Menon in four years after her last film "Rekka" (2016). Most of the portions of the film were predominantly shot in Madurai and Dindigul.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: The shooting of the film completed during November 2020 at a time when Government of Tamil Nadu permitted theatres to open for public for the first time post COVID-19. The first look poster of the film was unveiled on 30 December 2020.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: The film's soundtrack and score was composed by N. R. Raghunanthan. The album features six tracks with lyrics written by Mohan Rajan, Mani Amudhavan and Araikudi Bharathi Ganesan. It was released on 9 January 2021, six days before the film's release.


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: The filmmakers initially planned it for Christmas release on 25 December 2020 but was postponed due delays in post-production. The filmmakers again insisted that the film would be released initially in theatres on 1 January 2021 coinciding with the New Year which also taunted to be the first Tamil film release of 2021 but the theatrical release was cancelled in the last minute due to delays in post-production of the film. The film release was later finalised as a direct television premiere via Sun TV on 15 January 2021 as a Pongal release and subsequently the film would be streamed via digital platform Sun NXT. It became the second film to directly premiere via Sun TV after "Naanga Romba Busy" (2020).


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express rated the film 3 stars out of 5 stars and said, "proverbial climactic twist saves this generic film". The Times of India rated 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "The action scenes in the latter half (though violent), cinematography and performances lift the film to a good extent till the climax. All the artists pull off their roles with ease – while Lakshmi Menon, Vela Ramamoorthy and RK Suresh stand out." Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "Muthaiah has a good head for plot, but his screenwriting – the way he fleshes out these plot points – is like what you’d find in a TV serial...there’s no flavour in the lines. There’s no life in the performances."


title: Pulikkuthi Pandi

text: The film which had a direct TV premiere on Sun TV garnered a viewership of 13.284 million impressions and a rating of 17.05 TVR becoming the most watched Tamil television program in that week.


title: Bones (season 7)

text: The seventh season of the American television series "Bones" premiered on November 3, 2011, and concluded on May 14, 2012, on Fox. The show maintained its previous time slot, airing on Thursdays at 9:00 pm ET for the first half of the season. It began airing on Mondays at 8:00 pm when it returned on April 2, 2012. The season contains a reduced order of 13 episodes to accommodate Emily Deschanel's pregnancy. Fox ordered an additional four episodes, that were produced during the seventh season, but aired during the first part of season eight.


title: Bones (season 7)

text: The season is truncated due to Emily Deschanel's pregnancy and maternity leave. Originally, six episodes were scheduled to air in 2011 before the series went on hiatus, but the sixth episode was postponed to January 12, 2012, with the series then going on hiatus until the spring. The season begins a few months after the end of the previous season with Brennan in her third trimester. The season also introduces a new recurring antagonist, whom executive producer Stephen Nathan describes as "more of a 21st-century, tech-savvy foe" compared to the series' past recurring antagonists. The first six episodes also deal with Booth and Brennan preparing to raise their child.


title: Bones (season 7)

text: The "Bones" spin-off series "The Finder", which aired its backdoor pilot episode as part of "Bones" sixth season, premiered on January 12, 2012. "The Finder" aired 7 of its 13-episode season in "Bones" time slot when it went on hiatus during January–March 2012, before "The Finder" moved to Fridays. "Bones" cast members John Francis Daley and T. J. Thyne, who portray Lance Sweets and Jack Hodgins, respectively, appeared in different episodes of "The Finder". Also, David Boreanaz directed an episode of "The Finder".


title: Bones (season 7)

text: The seventh season of "Bones" was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on October 9, 2012, in region 2 on October 1, 2012 and in region 4 on November 7, 2012. The set includes all 13 episodes of season seven on a 4-disc DVD set and 3-disc Blu-ray set presented in anamorphic widescreen. Special features include an audio commentary on "The Past in the Present" by Hart Hanson and Ian Toynton, deleted scenes from "The Memories in the Shallow Grave" and "The Past in the Present", a gag reel, and two featurettes—Creating "The Suit on the Set" and Bone of Contention: On the Red Carpet.


title: Rags to riches

text: Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popular culture, such as the writings of Horatio Alger, Jr.


title: Rags to riches

text: The concept of "rags to riches" has been criticised by social reformers, anti-capitalists, revolutionaries, essayists and statisticians, who argue that only a handful of exceptionally capable and/or mainly lucky persons are actually able to travel the "rags to riches" road, being the great publicity given to such cases causes a natural survivorship bias illusion, which help keep the masses of the working class and the working poor in line, preventing them from agitating for an overall collective change in the direction of social equality.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Religion in Taiwan is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, predominantly those pertaining to the continued preservation of the ancient Chinese culture and religion. Freedom of religion is inscribed in the constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and ranks high at 9.2 on the Freedom Scale in 2018 according to the World Bank. The majority of Taiwanese people practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism often with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Many statistical analyses try to distinguish between Buddhism and Taoism in Taiwan, which, along with Confucianism, are rather aspects within broader "ancient Chinese religion". It is hard to make such distinction because various Taoist deities are worshipped alongside deities which originated in Buddhism, for instance Guanyin, in many temples across the country.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: , there were 15,175 religious buildings in Taiwan, approximately one place of worship per 1,572 residents. 12,279 temples were dedicated to Taoism and Buddhism. There were 9,684 Taoist Temples, 2,317 Buddhist Temples, and 2,845 Christian Churches. In Taiwan's 36,000 square kilometers of land, there are more than 33,000 places for religious (believers) to worship and gather. Averaging almost one religious building (temple, church, etc.) for every square kilometer, Taiwan is considered to have the highest density of religious buildings, making it the "most religious" region in the area where Chinese is the majority language.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Prior to the 17th century, the island of Taiwan was inhabited by the Taiwanese aborigines of Austronesian stock, and there were small settlements of Chinese and Japanese maritime traders and pirates. Taiwanese aborigines traditionally practised an animistic ethnic religion. When the island fell under Dutch rule in 1624, Protestantism was spread to the Taiwanese aborigines. Two years later, with the transition to Spanish rule, the Catholic Church was introduced into the island.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: When the Han Chinese began to settle the island and form the Taiwanese Chinese ethnic group, exchanges between the indigenous religion of the Austronesian aborigines and the Chinese folk religion occurred. For instance, Ali-zu, the Siraya god of fertility, has been incorporated into the Han pantheon in some places of Taiwan.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: A large influx of Han Chinese began in the 1660s with the transition of imperial power from the Ming dynasty to the Manchurian Qing dynasty. Many Ming loyalists fled to the south, including Zheng Chenggong alias Koxinga, a military warlord who fought against the Manchu dynasty. He sailed to Taiwan in 1661 with thousands of troops, and in a war with the Dutch, he defeated and drove out the Dutch military forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning, the first Chinese state on the island. Chinese settlers, mostly from Fujian and Guangdong, began to migrate to the island. The policy of migration to Taiwan was restrictive until 1788, even after the island came under the political control of the Qing in 1683.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Chinese migrants brought with them the Chinese traditional religions from their hometown, which served to integrate communities around the worship of Chinese Deities. As the settlers were mostly males, came from different areas, and at first not many people shared the same surnames and belonged to the same kins, ancestral shrines of kinship gods did not develop until the 1790s, when sufficient generations of families had established on the island.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: The first settlers in Koxinga and Qing periods brought with them images or incense ashes from mainland temples, installed them in homes or temporary thatched huts, and later in proper temples, as economic circumstances permitted to build them. Prominent temples became the foci of religious, political and social life, often eclipsing Qing officials and state-sponsored temples in their influence.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: There is little evidence that the doctrinal and initiatory religions of Buddhism and Taoism were active during this period. Taiwan, as a frontier land, was not attractive for Buddhist and Taoist religious leaders.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: During the mid-Qing dynasty, sects of popular Buddhism which the Japanese authorities would have later lumped together with the religions of fasting ("zhāijiāo") because of their vegetarian precepts, began to send missionaries from the mainland to Taiwan. They were more successful in attracting converts than either pure Buddhism or Taoism. Japanese researches of the early colonial period identified "zhaijiao" sects as a line of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, although contemporary scholars know that they were centered on a female creator deity, Wusheng Laomu, and identify them as branches of Luoism disguising as a form of Buddhism free of ordained clergy. "Zhaijiao" sects identify the "sangha" as the community of believers, not as a separate clergy.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Apart from "zhaijiao" Buddhist sects, other folk religious sects, that were mistakenly classified as Buddhist by the Japanese government, were active in Taiwan. The most prominent were the three religions of fasting: the Jinchuang, the Longhua, and Xiantiandao traditions (the latter was introduced to Taiwan in the mid-19th century).


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: In 1895, the Manchu government ceded Taiwan to Japan as part of the terms of surrender following the First Sino-Japanese War. During the fifty-one years of Japanese rule, governors enacted regulations to control the activities of "native religions". During a first period from 1895 to 1915, the Japanese adopted a "laissez-faire" policy towards native religions. During a second phase from 1915 to 1937, the government tried to vigorously regulate local religions. A third period, coinciding with the outbreak of hostilities between Japan and mainland China, saw the Japanese government start a that included a .


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: During the Japanese period many indigenous groups were forcibly converted to Shintoism, only a few (such as the Saisiyat people) were able to resist and maintain their traditions. Often this was done by convincing Japanese anthropologists to come to Taiwan and document religious traditions as legitimate cultural heritage however even the indigenous people allowed to keep some traditional ceremonies were still forced to pray at Shinto temples.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Buddhism, as a shared heritage of China and Japan, received better treatment than Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Some Taiwanese Buddhist groups cooperated with the Japanese government, and Japanese Buddhist sects sent missionaries to Taiwan and even worked with "zhaijiao" Buddhist groups. The total number of Japanese Buddhist groups that were introduced to Taiwan could be categorized into 14 sects under 8 schools. However, given the profound differences between Chinese and Japanese Buddhist traditions (among others, Japanese priests marry, eat meat and drink wine, all of which Chinese monks abstain from), the "Japanisation" of Chinese Buddhism was resisted by Taiwanese Buddhist communities.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: In 1915, Japanese religious policies in Taiwan changed after the "Xilai Hermitage incident". The hermitage was a "zhaijiao" Buddhist hall where the follower Yu Qingfang (余清芳) started an anti-Japanese uprising, in which many other folk religious and Taoist sects took part. The Japanese government discovered the plot and Yu Qingfang was executed in a speedy trial together with ninety-four other followers.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: After the incident, the Japanese government became suspicious of what it called Taiwan's . The government began to investigate, register and regulate local temples, and it created islandwide Buddhist religious associations—into which even "zhaijiao" Buddhist groups were enrolled—whose charters recommended loyalty to the government.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: In 1937, after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Tokyo ordered the rapid acculturation of the peoples of Japan's colonies. This included an effort to disaccustom people from Chinese traditional religions and convert them into the nexus of State Shinto. Many Shinto shrines were established in Taiwan. Chinese family altars were replaced with "kamidana" and "butsudan", and a Japanese calendar of religious festivals was introduced.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: The subsequent "temples' restructuration movement" caused much consternation among the Chinese population and had far-reaching effects. Its inception can be traced back to the "Conference for Improving Popular Customs" held in 1936, that far from promoting a razing of temples discussed measures for a reform and standardisation of Taoist and folk temple practices.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: The outbreak of open war between China and Japan in 1937 led to a proscription of practices and even stronger measures, as Japanese officials saw the religious culture centered around folk temples as the major obstacle to Japanisation. Consequently, some local officials began to close and to demolish temples, burning their images, confiscating their cash and real estates, a measure that they called "sending the gods to Heaven". In 1940, when a new governor-general took office, the "temples' restructuration movement" was halted.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: The Japanese persecution of Chinese folk religion led to an increase in skepticism and loss of faith among the Chinese. As a result of this loss of faith in gods, Japanese police reported a general decline in public morals. The policies also resulted in the disappearance of the small Muslim community, until Islam was reintroduced by the Kuomintang with their retreat from mainland China to Taiwan after the end of Chinese Civil War in 1949.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Another effect of the Japanese colonisation on religious life in Taiwan was due to the modernisation of infrastructures. Before the 20th century the travel infrastructure of Taiwan was not very developed, and it was difficult for people to move from a part of the island to another. The Japanese quickly constructed a network of railroads connecting all regions of the island. In the field of religion, this promoted the rise in importance of some Buddhist, Taoist or folk temples as island-wide pilgrimage sites. During this time, some gods lost their local and sub-ethnic nature and became "pan-Taiwanese".


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: In 1945, after the Second World War, the administration of Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China through General Order No. 1. The People's Republic of China was established four years later in mainland China under the Chinese Communist Party.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: In 1949, the 63th Celestial Master of Taoism Zhang Enpu (張恩溥) escaped from mainland China to Taiwan after the Government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War, bringing the religious leadership and orthodoxy of Zhengyi Dao to Taiwan. The lineage for the Celestial Master had since passed on to the 65th Celestial Master Zhang Yijiang (張意將).


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: The rapid economic growth of Taiwan since the 1970s and 1980s ("Taiwan Miracle") accompanied by a quick renewal of Chinese folk religion, challenging Max Weber's theories on secularisation and disenchantment, has led many scholars to investigate how folk religious culture, with its emphasis on values like loyalty, its social network of temples and gods' societies, may have contributed to the island's economic development. During the same period, folk religions developed ties with environmental causes. Chinese salvationist religions (such as earlier Xiantiandao) become increasingly popular in Taiwan after 1945, although some of them were illegal until the 1980s.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: After the 1950s, and especially since the 1970s, there was a significant growth of Buddhism. Chinese Buddhism developed into distinctively new forms, with the foundation of organizations like the Tzu Chi, the Fo Guang Shan and the Dharma Drum Mountain, which follow the Humanistic Buddhism movement that was founded in mainland China during the early 20th century. Many highly realized Buddhist masters, such as Master Hsing Yun, Master Sheng-yen, Master Yin Shun, and others escaped from mainland China to Taiwan when the Government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War. They promoted Humanistic Buddhism reformist movement in Taiwan, which was pioneered by Master Taixu in mainland China. Tibetan Buddhism had also spread into the island. Since the 2000s, there has been an increasing cooperation between religious groups in Taiwan and mainland China which decreased tensions between them. Despite this, there are still tensions from past events, including Taiwan being removed from the United Nations by the People's Republic of China.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Chinese traditional, popular or folk religion, or simply Chinese religion, also called Shenism, defines the collection of grassroots ethnic religious and spiritual experiences, disciplines, beliefs and practices of the Han Chinese. Another name of this complex of religions is Chinese Universism, coined by Jan Jakob Maria de Groot, and referring to Chinese religion's intrinsic metaphysical perspective.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: It consists in the worship of the "shen" (神 "gods", "spirits", "awarenesses", "consciousnesses", "archetypes"; literally "expressions", the energies that generate things and make them thrive) which can be nature deities, city deities or tutelary deities of other human agglomerations, national deities, cultural heroes and demigods, ancestors and progenitors, deities of the kinship. Holy narratives regarding some of these gods are part of Chinese mythology.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: Chinese folk religion in Taiwan is framed by the ritual ministry exerted by the Zhengyi Taoist clergy ("sanju daoshi"), independent orders of "fashi" (non-Taoist ritual masters), and "tongji" media. The Chinese folk religion of Taiwan has characteristic features, such as Wang Ye worship. Even though Falun Gong is banned in China, people in Taiwan are free to practise it.


title: Religion in Taiwan

text: As of 2005, more than 10% of the population of Taiwan adhered to a variety of folk religious organisations of salvation. The largest of them is Yiguandao (with 3.5% of the population), followed by Tiandiism (whose two churches, the Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue and the Lord of Universe Church, counted together constitute 2.2% of the island's population), Miledadao (an offshoot of Yiguandao accounting for 1.1%), Zailiism (0.8%) and Xuanyuanism (0.7%), and other minor movements including Precosmic Salvationism and Daiyiism. The three largest ones—Yiguandao, Tiandiism and Miledadao—and some others derive from the Xiantiandao tradition, making this the religious tradition of more than 7% of Taiwan's population. Other salvationisms with an important presence in Taiwan, though not documented in the 2005 official statistics, are Confucian Shenism (also called Luanism) and the recent Weixinism.