title: Siamese Dream

text: "Siamese Dream" was released on July 27, 1993, and debuted at number ten on the "Billboard" 200 the following week. The album was almost universally lauded by music critics. "Select"s Andrew Perry praised it as "the most grand-scale, expansively-passionate blasts of music you'll hear this year" and remarked that it would be "hard for anyone to top this one". John Harris of "NME" wrote that "Siamese Dream", "for all its air of non-committal blankness and exercise-book psychoanalysis, is a startling, deeply satisfying record". Steve Hochman of the "Los Angeles Times" predicted that "the scale of its success will likely be tied to how many fans are willing to stop moshing and enter into some rather contemplative, even tender territory", and wrote that "the songs tend to drift in places, and some get a bit long-winded, but the overall balance between the harsh and the sweet makes for a strong and distinctive package". Lorraine Ali of "Rolling Stone" called the album "a strong, multidimensional extension of "Gish" that confirms that Smashing Pumpkins are neither sellouts nor one-offs."


title: Siamese Dream

text: "Entertainment Weekly" critic David Browne praised the band for living up to industry expectations of being the "next Nirvana" and compared "Siamese Dream" favorably to Nirvana's "Nevermind", concluding: "In aiming for more than just another alternative guitar record, Smashing Pumpkins may have stumbled upon a whole new stance: slackers with a vision." Critic Simon Reynolds disagreed; he wrote in his review for "The New York Times" that "fuzzed-up riffs and angst-wracked vocals are quite the norm these days, and Smashing Pumpkins lacks the zeitgeist-defining edge that made Nirvana's breakthrough so thrilling and resonant." Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" cited "Geek U.S.A." and "Today" as highlights while noting the record's strength is "the sonics"; he later rated the album with a . "Siamese Dream" earned the Smashing Pumpkins their first Grammy Award nominations. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance, and the group was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Siamese Dream

text: "Siamese Dream" continues to receive critical praise and has been frequently included in lists of the best albums of the 1990s—the "Alternative Press" ranked it fourth, "Pitchfork" ranked it 18th, and "Spin" ranked it 23rd. In 2003, the album was ranked number 360 on "Rolling Stone"s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, with the album's ranking dropping to number 362 and rising to number 341 in the 2012 and 2020 updates of the list, respectively. In a retrospective review of the album, Greg Prato of AllMusic called "Siamese Dream" "one of the finest alt-rock albums of all time" and remarked that it "stands alongside "Nevermind" and "Superunknown" as one of the decade's finest (and most influential) rock albums." "Chicago Tribune" critic Greg Kot wrote that it "became a soundtrack for a significant portion of [Corgan's] generation" and "did so by tempering some of the first album's extremes; sticky melodies and pretty production can make almost anything radio-friendly, even a desperately sad song like 'Today.'" In a review for "Pitchfork", Ned Raggett remarked that while initial reviews of the album singled out Corgan's lyrics for criticism, they were actually "exactly what made the band click even further", commending Corgan's "ear for hooks, metaphors, and deft summaries." The deluxe edition of the album holds a score of 96 out of 100 on review aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". In April 2019, "Rolling Stone" ranked Siamese Dream as the twelfth greatest Grunge album of all time. The album was also included in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Karrine Steffans (born August 24, 1978) is an American author, most notably of the "Vixen" series of books. She has worked as an actress and as a video vixen, having appeared in more than 20 music videos. In 2007 and 2008, Steffans visited a number of college campuses to speak about her involvement in the hip hop industry and its expectations of women.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Steffans was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and moved to Florida when she was 10 years old. She has written about her troubled childhood: she grew up in poverty, suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of an alcoholic mother and indifferent father, and was raped when she was 13. She ran away at 16, and began working as an exotic dancer. She lived on the streets for a month. She lived in New York and Arizona, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1999. She currently resides near Hollywood. When she was 17, Steffans moved in with rapper Nathaniel Wilson, better known as Kool G Rap, with whom she had a son. Their relationship was "tumultuous", and Steffans says she left for Los Angeles to protect her son after physical abuse landed her in the hospital.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Steffans' relationship with Kool G introduced her to the growing hip hop music industry. After moving to Los Angeles, friends she had made in the industry through acquaintances of Kool G began showing her the ropes. She made her video model debut at the age of 21, appearing in Jay-Z's "Hey Papi" video in 2000. Steffans has also worked in videos with R. Kelly, LL Cool J and Mystikal. In April 2006, Steffans appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in a segment titled "Smart Women on 'Stupid Girls' – Guests discuss the objectification of women". Steffans discussed how she had suffered sexual abuse as a child, and how she allowed herself to be sexually exploited in order to obtain work in music videos.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: In 2004, after her appearance in "A Man Apart", Steffans modelled for "Smooth" magazine's 'Hollywood Swimsuit' issue, and appeared on its cover the following year in conjunction with the release of her first book. In 2007, Karrine Steffans appeared in an exclusive photo-layout and on the cover of "King" magazine.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: In 2003, Steffans appeared in the action movie "A Man Apart", starring Vin Diesel. In 2007, musicians Datwon Thomas and DJ Rhude released a mixtape called "Freaky Flows", with a spoken word introduction and epilogue by Karrine Steffans, made available for free through "King" magazine.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Karrine Steffans' first three books, "Confessions of a Video Vixen" (2005), "The Vixen Diaries" (2007), and "The Vixen Manual: How to Find, Seduce & Keep the Man You Want" (2009), have all made "The New York Times" Best Seller list. She dedicated her first book to her son, and she donates part of the proceeds from the book to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. According to "Essence Magazine" editor Michaela Angela Davis, Steffans is reaching people "who may have dismissed earlier protests against rap's misogyny". Steffans has spoken to young women at colleges about the lesser-known dangers of the entertainment industry.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Upon publishing her cautionary memoir "Confessions of a Video Vixen", Steffans departed on a promotional tour and has been interviewed by many journalists, including Bill O'Reilly, Geraldo Rivera, and Donny Deutsch. Entering "The New York Times" Best Seller list at number seven and peaking at number five, "Confessions" stayed on the list for over twenty weeks in hardcover and returned to the best seller list a year and a half later in paperback. "The Vixen Diaries", published by Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group USA (formerly Warner Books), entered "The New York Times" Best Seller's list at number six in the fall of 2007. "The Vixen Manual: How to Find, Seduce & Keep the Man You Want" entered the How-To/Self-Help "New York Times" best sellers list in July 2009 at number seven.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: Steffans started her own publishing imprint, "Steffans Publishing", in 2008. She has occasionally guest-written columns for "King" magazine. In March 2010, Steffans announced on her website that she had signed two deals with Fox Television Studios.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: In July 2012, "Drink Fuck Sleep (Volume 1)" was published, with Karrine Steffans as editor. The book is described by its publishers as "an anthology" that consists of "a series of essays depicting regrettable sexual experiences wherein the consumption of alcohol was involved, either before, during, or after." In February 2013, "How To Make Love to a Martian" was published in exclusively Kindle form. Steffans describes the book as relating the story of her "unorthodox relationship" with rapper Lil' Wayne.


title: Karrine Steffans

text: In 2015, ten years after the release of her first book, Steffans published "Vindicated: Confessions of a Video Vixen, Ten Years Later", with a foreword by "King" magazine founder Datwon Thomas. Speaking about the legacy of her output, Steffans said, "I realized recently that I'm surrounded by young women who have never had a sexual revolution. So I became almost this figure, this Joan of Arc [for them]".


title: Immortal Technique

text: Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Immortal Technique seeks to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to a combined total of 200,000 copies of his first three official releases.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Coronel was born in a military hospital in Lima. He is of mostly Amerindian descent, and also has Spanish, French and African ancestry. His family immigrated to Harlem, New York, in 1980 to escape the Peruvian Civil War. During his teenage years, he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where his classmates included Chris Hayes and Lin-Manuel Miranda, whom he bullied, although the two later became friends. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students; the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year.


title: Immortal Technique

text: After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he went to school. Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, he began selling his music on the streets of New York and battling with other MCs. This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary and Braggin Rites, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.


title: Immortal Technique

text: In 2001, Immortal Technique released his first album "Revolutionary Vol. 1" without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs. He also battled but lost to Posta Boy in 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday. "Revolutionary Vol. 1" also contained the underground classic "Dance With The Devil". In November 2002, he was listed by "The Source" in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in "The Source" for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned. He released his second album "Revolutionary Vol. 2" in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, "Revolutionary Vol. 1", to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from "Revolutionary Vol 2" was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on "The Middle Passage" and "The 3rd World", the two albums that would serve a follow up to "Revolutionary Vol. 2" and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly. In October 2011, Immortal Technique released "The Martyr", a free compilation album of previously unreleased material and new tracks.


title: Immortal Technique

text: In an interview in 2020 with Latino USA, Immortal Technique discussed that he was working on writing a book. He also mentioned that he was in the process of creating his new album, but had faced setbacks because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.


title: Immortal Technique

text: The summer of 2005 saw the release of "Bin Laden", a vinyl single 12" featuring Mos Def and DJ Green Lantern. The single also contained a remix of the song featured Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. In early 2006, the song "Impeach the President", featuring Dead Prez and Saigon turned up in the mixtape "Alive on Arrival" DJ Green Lantern. This is a simple version of The Honeydrippers, 1973, in which Immortal Technique urged fans to organize a vote of censure against George W. Bush. In April 2009, a new song leaked on the internet named "Democratie Fasciste (Article 4)" by Brazilian-French rapper Rockin' Squat which featured Immortal Technique. The official release of the song and Rockin' Squat's album "Confessions D'un Enfant Du Siècle Volume 2" was on May 12, 2009. The instrumental from the song was sampled from Wendy Rene's "After Laughter". The song expresses the inequalities of the Third World and revolutionary events throughout history against tyranny and oppression.


title: Immortal Technique

text: The song contains lyrics in English (Immortal Technique), French (Rockin' Squat) and brief shout outs in Spanish (Immortal Technique). This song is Immortal Technique's first official international collaboration. In early 2009, it was announced that there would be a collaboration between Technique and UK underground artist Lowkey, on a single called "Voices of the Voiceless". On September 11, 2009, a "snippet" of the song was released on YouTube. The preview was released ahead of its September 21 launch on iTunes, as part of a web-campaign that included updates, promotion and links on forums, E-Magazines and several social networking sites. The song's lyrics cover a broad range of issues that are familiar to listeners of both artists – racism, world revolution, war, socialism, government control, rape, famine, colonialism, Classism, self-determination and the war in Iraq.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Immortal Technique visits prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists, and raising money for children's hospitals overseas. He created a writing grant program for high-school students as well.


title: Immortal Technique

text: In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with "Omeid International", a non-profit human rights organization, and dubbed the work as "The Green Light Project". With the profits of the album "The 3rd World", he traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to help Omeid build an orphanage without any corporate or external funding. The orphanage, having been successfully established, currently houses over 20 orphaned children from Kabul.


title: Immortal Technique

text: A documentary about Immortal Technique was released in September 2011 and premiered at the Harlem Film Festival. It was released on DVD on July 10, 2012.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Immortal Technique appeared as himself in a docudrama film entitled "This Revolution", which was recorded during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. The tape contains the protests surrounding the convention in the form of a documentary. It also featured Viper Records affiliates Akir and producer SouthPaw in roles.


title: Immortal Technique

text: Since then, Immortal Technique has taken control of Viper Records and has signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records / E1 Entertainment to vent to their next album. SouthPaw has managed to establish himself as A&R of Viper Records.


title: Knife

text: A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone (such as flint and obsidian), over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.


title: Knife

text: Knives can serve various purposes. Hunters use a hunting knife, soldiers use the combat knife, scouts, campers, and hikers carry a pocket knife; there are kitchen knives for preparing foods (the chef's knife, the paring knife, bread knife, cleaver), table knives (butter knives and steak knives), weapons (daggers or switchblades), knives for throwing or juggling, and knives for religious ceremony or display (the kirpan).


title: Knife

text: The blade edge can be plain or serrated, or a combination of both. Single-edged knives may have a "reverse edge" or "false edge" occupying a section of the spine. These edges are usually serrated and are used to further enhance function.


title: Knife

text: The handle, used to grip and manipulate the blade safely, may include a "tang", a portion of the blade that extends into the handle. Knives are made with partial tangs (extending part way into the handle, known as "stick tangs") or full tangs (extending the full length of the handle, often visible on top and bottom). There is also the "enterçado" construction method present in antique knives from Brazil, such as the Sorocaban Knife, which consists in riveting a repurposed blade to the ricasso of a bladeless handle. The handle may include a bolster, a piece of heavy material (usually metal) situated at the front or rear of the handle. The bolster, as its name suggests, is used to mechanically strengthen the knife.


title: Knife

text: Knife blades can be manufactured from a variety of materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Carbon steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, can be very sharp. It holds its edge well, and remains easy to sharpen, but is vulnerable to rust and stains. Stainless steel is an alloy of iron, chromium, possibly nickel, and molybdenum, with only a small amount of carbon. It is not able to take quite as sharp an edge as carbon steel, but is highly resistant to corrosion. High carbon stainless steel is stainless steel with a higher amount of carbon, intended to incorporate the better attributes of carbon steel and stainless steel. High carbon stainless steel blades do not discolor or stain, and maintain a sharp edge. Laminated blades use multiple metals to create a layered sandwich, combining the attributes of both. For example, a harder, more brittle steel may be sandwiched between an outer layer of softer, tougher, stainless steel to reduce vulnerability to corrosion. In this case, however, the part most affected by corrosion, the edge, is still vulnerable. Damascus steel is a form of pattern welding with similarities to laminate construction. Layers of different steel types are welded together, but then the stock is manipulated to create patterns in the steel.


title: Knife

text: Titanium is a metal that has a better strength-to-weight ratio, is more wear resistant, and more flexible than steel. Although less hard and unable to take as sharp an edge, carbides in the titanium alloy allow them to be heat-treated to a sufficient hardness. Ceramic blades are hard, brittle, and lightweight: they may maintain a sharp edge for years with no maintenance at all, but are as fragile as glass and will break if dropped on a hard surface. They are immune to common corrosion, and can only be sharpened on silicon carbide sandpaper and some grinding wheels. Plastic blades are not especially sharp and typically serrated. They are often disposable.


title: Knife

text: Steel blades are commonly shaped by forging or stock removal. Forged blades are made by heating a single piece of steel, then shaping the metal while hot using a hammer or press. Stock removal blades are shaped by grinding and removing metal. With both methods, after shaping, the steel must be heat treated. This involves heating the steel above its critical point, then quenching the blade to harden it. After hardening, the blade is tempered to remove stresses and make the blade tougher. Mass manufactured kitchen cutlery uses both the forging and stock removal processes. Forging tends to be reserved for manufacturers' more expensive product lines, and can often be distinguished from stock removal product lines by the presence of an integral bolster, though integral bolsters can be crafted through either shaping method.


title: Knife

text: Knives are sharpened in various ways. Flat ground blades have a profile that tapers from the thick spine to the sharp edge in a straight or convex line. Seen in cross section, the blade would form a long, thin triangle, or where the taper does not extend to the back of the blade, a long thin rectangle with one peaked side. Hollow ground blades have concave, beveled edges. The resulting blade has a thinner edge, so it may have better cutting ability for shallow cuts, but it is lighter and less durable than flat ground blades and will tend to bind in deep cuts. Serrated blade knives have a wavy, scalloped or saw-like blade. Serrated blades are more well suited for tasks that require aggressive 'sawing' motions, whereas plain edge blades are better suited for tasks that require push-through cuts (e.g., shaving, chopping, slicing).


title: Knife

text: Many knives have holes in the blade for various uses. Holes are commonly drilled in blades to reduce friction while cutting, increase single-handed usability of pocket knives, and, for butchers' knives, allow hanging out of the way when not in use.


title: Knife

text: A fixed blade knife, sometimes called a sheath knife, does not fold or slide, and is typically stronger due to the tang, the extension of the blade into the handle, and lack of moving parts.


title: Knife

text: A folding knife connects the blade to the handle through a pivot, allowing the blade to fold into the handle. To prevent injury to the knife user through the blade accidentally closing on the user's hand, folding knives typically have a locking mechanism. Different locking mechanisms are favored by various individuals for reasons such as perceived strength (lock safety), legality, and ease of use.


title: Knife

text: Another prominent feature of many folding knives is the opening mechanism. Traditional pocket knives and Swiss Army knives commonly employ the nail nick, while modern folding knives more often use a stud, hole, disk, or "flipper" located on the blade, all of which have the benefit of allowing the user to open the knife with one hand.


title: Knife

text: The "wave" feature is another prominent design, which uses a part of the blade that protrudes outward to catch on one's pocket as it is drawn, thus opening the blade; this was patented by Ernest Emerson and is not only used on many of the Emerson knives, but also on knives produced by several other manufacturers, notably Spyderco and Cold Steel.


title: Knife

text: "Automatic" or "switchblade" knives open using the stored energy from a spring that is released when the user presses a button or lever or other actuator built into the handle of the knife. Automatic knives are severely restricted by law in the UK and most American states.


title: Knife

text: Increasingly common are "assisted opening" knives which use springs to propel the blade once the user has moved it past a certain angle. These differ from automatic or switchblade knives in that the blade is not released by means of a button or catch on the handle; rather, the blade itself is the actuator. Most assisted openers use flippers as their opening mechanism. Assisted opening knives can be as fast or faster than automatic knives to deploy.


title: Knife

text: In the lock back, as in many folding knives, a stop pin acting on the top (or behind) the blade prevents it from rotating clockwise. A hook on the tang of the blade engages with a hook on the rocker bar which prevents the blade from rotating counter-clockwise. The rocker bar is held in position by a torsion bar. To release the knife the rocker bar is pushed downwards as indicated and pivots around the rocker pin, lifting the hook and freeing the blade.


title: Knife

text: When negative pressure (pushing down on the spine) is applied to the blade all the stress is transferred from the hook on the blade's tang to the hook on the rocker bar and thence to the small rocker pin. Excessive stress can shear one or both of these hooks rendering the knife effectively useless. Knife company Cold Steel uses a variant of the lock back called the Tri-Ad Lock which introduces a pin in front of the rocker bar to relieve stress on the rocker pin, has an elongated hole around the rocker pin to allow the mechanism to wear over time without losing strength and angles the hooks so that the faces no longer meet vertically.


title: Knife

text: The bolt in the bolt lock is a rectangle of metal that is constrained to slide only back and forward. When the knife is open a spring biases the bolt to the forward position where it rests above the tang of the blade preventing the blade from closing. Small knobs extend through the handle of the knife on both sides allowing the user to slide the bolt backward freeing the knife to close. The Axis Lock used by knife maker Benchmade is functionally identical to the bolt lock except that it uses a cylinder rather than a rectangle to trap the blade. The Arc Lock by knife maker SOG is similar to the Axis Lock except the cylinder follows a curved path rather than a straight path.


title: Knife

text: In the liner lock, an "L"-shaped split in the liner allows part of the liner to move sideways from its resting position against the handle to the centre of the knife where it rests against the flat end of the tang. To disengage, this leaf spring is pushed so it again rests flush against the handle allowing the knife to rotate. A frame lock is functionally identical but instead of using a thin liner inside the handle material uses a thicker piece of metal as the handle and the same split in it allows a section of the frame to press against the tang.


title: Knife

text: A sliding knife is a knife that can be opened by sliding the knife blade out the front of the handle. One method of opening is where the blade exits out the front of the handle point-first and then is locked into place (an example of this is the gravity knife). Another form is an OTF (out-the-front) switchblade, which only requires the push of a button or spring to cause the blade to slide out of the handle and lock into place. To retract the blade back into the handle, a release lever or button, usually the same control as to open, is pressed. A very common form of sliding knife is the sliding utility knife (commonly known as a stanley knife or boxcutter).


title: Knife

text: The handles of knives can be made from a number of different materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Handles are produced in a wide variety of shapes and styles. Handles are often textured to enhance grip.


title: Knife

text: More exotic materials usually only seen on art or ceremonial knives include: Stone, bone, mammoth tooth, mammoth ivory, oosik (walrus penis bone), walrus tusk, antler (often called stag in a knife context), sheep horn, buffalo horn, teeth, and mop (mother of pearl or "pearl"). Many materials have been employed in knife handles.


title: Knife

text: Handles may be adapted to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. For example, knife handles may be made thicker or with more cushioning for people with arthritis in their hands. A non-slip handle accommodates people with palmar hyperhidrosis.


title: Knife

text: As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. It is the essential element of a knife fight. For example:


title: Knife

text: A primary aspect of the knife as a tool includes dining, used either in food preparation or as cutlery. Examples of this include:


title: Knife

text: The knife plays a significant role in some cultures through ritual and superstition, as the knife was an essential tool for survival since early man. Knife symbols can be found in various cultures to symbolize all stages of life; for example, a knife placed under the bed while giving birth is said to ease the pain, or, stuck into the headboard of a cradle, to protect the baby; knives were included in some Anglo-Saxon burial rites, so the dead would not be defenseless in the next world. The knife plays an important role in some initiation rites, and many cultures perform rituals with a variety of knives, including the ceremonial sacrifices of animals. Samurai warriors, as part of bushido, could perform ritual suicide, or seppuku, with a tantō, a common Japanese knife. An athame, a ceremonial knife, is used in Wicca and derived forms of neopagan witchcraft.


title: Knife

text: In Greece, a black-handled knife placed under the pillow is used to keep away nightmares. As early as 1646 reference is made to a superstition of laying a knife across another piece of cutlery being a sign of witchcraft. A common belief is that if a knife is given as a gift, the relationship of the giver and recipient will be severed. Something such as a small coin, dove or a valuable item is exchanged for the gift, rendering "payment."


title: Knife

text: Knives are typically restricted by law, because they are often used in crime, although restrictions vary greatly by country or state and type of knife. For example, some laws prohibit carrying knives in public while other laws prohibit private ownership of certain knives, such as switchblades.


title: Zhao Liying

text: Zhao Liying (, born 16 October 1987), also known as Zanilia Zhao, is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in television series "Legend of Lu Zhen" (2013), "Boss & Me" (2014), "The Journey of Flower" (2015), "The Mystic Nine" (2016), "Noble Aspirations" (2016), "Princess Agents" (2017), "The Story of Minglan" (2018), and "Legend of Fei" (2020).


title: Zhao Liying

text: Zhao was born on 16 October 1987 in Langfang, Hebei. She graduated from Langfang School of Electronic Information Engineering, a secondary professional training school. She has said of this period: I was born in a village, but it was the experience of rural life that strengthened my strong will and gave me a firm and tenacious personality. It is these experiences that have made me who I am today. So I think it is his strong heart, the persistent pursuit of dreams, the perseverance and steadfastness of the profession which you are engaged in, as well as the calmness and stability when facing the vanity that makes a hero.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2006, Zhao Liying participated in the Yahoo "Search Star Game" and became the final winner. She then signed with Huayi Brothers as a new talent. In 2007, Zhao made her acting debut in the family drama "Golden Marriage" directed by Zheng Xiaolong.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2009, Zhao took on her first historical drama role in "The Firmament of The Pleiades". The series was broadcast on Japanese channel NHK and earned critical acclaim. Zhao received the Most Popular Actress award at the Chinese Creative Short Video Awards.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2010, first started to gain recognition from mainland audiences after starring in "The Dream of Red Mansions" (2010), based on the novel of the same name by Cao Xueqin. In 2011, Zhao's popularity rose following her role as Princess Qing'er in "New My Fair Princess".


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2013, Zhao starred in historical drama "Legend of Lu Zhen", playing an ordinary girl who worked her way up to become the first female prime minister. The drama was a hit domestically, and also overseas in South Korea and Japan, leading to increased recognition for Zhao in the region. Zhao won several newcomer and popularity awards at local award ceremonies. The same year, Zhao starred in historical romance film "", the fourth and final installment of the "Gong" series by Yu Zheng. Opposite to her usual sweet and nice image, Zhao plays a scheming and evil princess in the film.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2014, Zhao starred in the romantic comedy drama "Boss & Me", based on Gu Man's popular novel "Shan Shan Comes to Eat". The series topped ratings in its timeslot in China, and also earned high popularity overseas.


title: Zhao Liying

text: Zhao further solidified her popularity with several high rated dramas in 2014, including "The Legend of Chasing Fish" and "Wife's Secret". Zhao's soaring popularity thanks to her various successful acting projects led to her being crowned the "Golden Eagle Goddess" at the 10th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival, where she performed as the opening act to the ceremony.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2015, Zhao starred in xianxia romance drama "The Journey of Flower". The drama was a huge success in China, achieving a peak rating of 3.89 and also became the first Chinese drama to surpass 20 billion online views. The success of the drama brought Zhao's career to a greater height. Zhao won numerous accolades for her role in "The Journey of Flower", including the Best Actress at the 28th China TV Golden Eagle Award. Zhao was also nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.


title: Zhao Liying

text: The same year, she starred in modern workplace drama "Best Get Going", and wuxia drama "Legend of Zu Mountain".


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2016, Zhao starred in action adventure drama "The Mystic Nine", playing a sassy and haughty heiress. The series was a commercial success, accumulating over 10 billion views in total. Zhao won the Best Actress award at the 3rd Hengdian Film and TV Festival of China for her role. She was then cast as one of the two female leads, Bi Yao in "Noble Aspirations", based on the popular novel "Zhu Xian" written by Xiao Ding. The drama has over 23 billion views online, the highest record held by a Chinese drama at that time. The same year, Zhao starred in her first war drama, "Rookie Agent Rouge".


title: Zhao Liying

text: VLinkage reported that as of December 2016, Zhao's combined dramas' views have reached over 110 billion views, which is the most views by a Chinese actor at the moment.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2017, Zhao starred in the Han Han-directed film, "Duckweed" alongside Deng Chao and Eddie Peng. The sleeper hit was a commercial and critical success. She won her first film award, the Favorite Actress at the Beijing College Student Film Festival. She then starred in the revolutionary drama film "Eternal Wave" along with Aaron Kwok, about the operation of Communist Party (CPC) undercover agents operating in Shanghai in the 1930s against the Japanese.


title: Zhao Liying

text: Zhao returned to the small screen with historical action drama "Princess Agents", playing a slave girl who rises up to become a powerful female general. "Princess Agents" was a commercial success both domestically and internationally, and held the record as the most watched Chinese television series at that time. "Forbes" China listed Zhao under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2017 list which comprises 30 influential people under 30 years old who have made substantial effect in their fields.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2018, Zhao starred in the fantasy adventure film "The Monkey King 3", playing the role of the Women Country's Ruler. Zhao then starred in the historical drama "The Story of Minglan" produced by Daylight Entertainment. The drama received critical acclaim and topped television ratings with over 2% in its final episodes. Zhao was nominated at the Magnolia Award for Best Actress in a Television Series for the second time.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2019, it was announced that Zhao will star as the female lead in the wuxia drama "Legend of Fei", based on the novel "You Fei" by Priest.


title: Zhao Liying

text: In 2016, Zhao was named the tourism ambassador of Hebei. The same year, Zhao became the Vice President of Yi Xia Technology.


title: Zhao Liying

text: Zhao unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds Beijing in May 2017. The same year, Zhao was chosen as a brand ambassador for Dior in China.


title: Zhao Liying

text: On October 16, 2018, Zhao announced her marriage to actor Feng Shaofeng on Sina Weibo. On March 8, 2019, Zhao gave birth to a boy.


title: Zhao Liying

text: On April 23, 2021, Feng and Zhao announced their divorce on Sina Weibo, ending their two-year marriage. They shared custody of their son.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand, under the ring name Jinder Mahal.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Having started his career on the independent circuit, Mahal joined WWE in 2010 and made his debut on the company's main roster the following year. After a short-lived alliance with his kayfabe brother-in-law The Great Khali, he formed the stable 3MB with fellow wrestlers Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, before he and McIntyre were released from the company in 2014. Mahal returned to WWE in 2016 with a drastically improved physique and received a push, culminating in him capturing the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in April 2017, making him the 50th WWE Champion and the first of Indian descent. His reign lasted approximately six months, and he would then go on to win the WWE United States Championship at WrestleMania 34 in 2018 and the WWE 24/7 Championship twice in 2019.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Yuvraj Singh Dhesi was born on July 19, 1986 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent. He holds a business degree in communications and culture from the University of Calgary. His uncle, Gama Singh, was considered a legendary wrestling villain in the original Stampede Wrestling and wrestled around the world (and briefly for the WWF, now WWE) in the 1980s.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Growing up in a wrestling family, Dhesi began his professional wrestling career at the Martial Arts Fitness Center in Calgary, training with Rick Bognar. He debuted in Premier Martial Arts Wrestling (PMW) as "Raj Dhesi" and then went on to train with Allen Coage and Gerry Morrow, wrestling in a revived Stampede Wrestling alongside fellow future WWE wrestlers Natalya, Tyson Kidd, and Viktor. As "Tiger Raj Singh", he won various tag team championships in Stampede and Prairie Wrestling Alliance (PWA), spending much of his early career teaming with his cousin Gama Singh Jr. They were known as The New Karachi Vice and also as Sikh & Destroy, winning the PWA Canadian Tag Team Championship. In PWA, he was the PWA Heavyweight Champion from 2008 until January 2010 and also spent time in Great North Wrestling (GNW), where he feuded with wrestlers such as Hannibal and Samoa Joe.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Dhesi tried out for WWE's developmental promotion Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). At the tryout, he believed that his Punjabi gimmick and promos made him stand out, stating that he "came out wearing a turban and had [his] full outfit on" and that "they like guys who speak different languages and have different looks". In February 2010, he signed to a developmental contract with FCW under the ring name Jinder Mahal and wrestled there for a year.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Mahal made his televised WWE debut on the April 29, 2011 episode of "SmackDown", greeting backstage fellow Indian wrestler The Great Khali and his manager Ranjin Singh by speaking in Punjabi that he was really happy and excited to see Khali and Ranjin. The next week on "SmackDown", Mahal, unimpressed by how Khali and Singh have been partaking in childish activities instead of winning matches, confronted Singh about his mismanagement of Khali, establishing himself as a heel. Mahal interrupted a Khali Kiss Cam segment the following week on "SmackDown", slapping Khali twice. On the May 20 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal interrupted Khali's match against Jey Uso, leading to Khali confronting Mahal. On his first televised match on the June 17 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal defeated Vladimir Kozlov and on the July 1 episode of "SmackDown" it was revealed that Mahal was married to Khali's sister, making them (kayfabe) brothers-in-law. On the September 5 episode of "Raw", he suffered his first loss when he and Khali lost to WWE Tag Team Champions Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston in a non-title match. In a rematch on "SmackDown", they lost again to Bourne and Kingston, leading Khali to walk away from Mahal after the match, thus ending their alliance. On the September 16 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal attacked Khali during his match with Heath Slater which Khali won by disqualification. On the September 23 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal suffered his first loss in a singles match to Khali. On the October 14 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal competed in a 41-man battle royal and Mahal made it to the final three before being eliminated by Randy Orton.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In November, Mahal targeted wrestlers whom he deemed as beneath him or embarrassing and in November began a feud with Ted DiBiase. On the December 30 episode of "Smackdown", Mahal broke DiBiase's winning streak via submission to end their feud. In December, Mahal tried to make a name for himself and went after Sheamus, constantly disrespecting him, but was defeated and for several months they were involved in multiple matches, with Sheamus always getting the best of Mahal. At Mahal's first Royal Rumble on January 29, 2012, he was eliminated by The Great Khali, rekindling their feud and leading to a match on the February 3 episode of "SmackDown", which Mahal lost. At Over the Limit on May 20, Mahal participated in and lost a battle royal match where the winner was to receive a shot at the Intercontinental Championship or the United States Championship when he was again eliminated by The Great Khali.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In late April, Mahal began confronting several wrestlers, starting with Randy Orton, interrupting one of his promos and being attacked in retaliation with an "RKO". On July 23 at "Raw 1000", Mahal confronted Kane, leading a group consisting of Camacho, Curt Hawkins, Drew McIntyre, Hunico and Tyler Reks and claiming none of them had been given an opportunity within WWE and would make one by taking down Kane, but The Undertaker's sudden appearance halted their advance and The Brothers of Destruction attacked the group and took them out. On the July 27 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal lost to Ryback by countout and then began a feud with him, winning by intentional countout and disqualification. To try and prove himself to Ryback, Mahal requested a match against two local wrestlers in a match style similar to Ryback's, defeating them quickly by submission. In spite of this, Mahal continued his feud with Ryback, attacking him during their matches and after Ryback's, but was ultimately pinned by Ryback on the August 24 episode of "SmackDown" to end their feud.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: When WWE rebranded its developmental territory FCW into NXT, Mahal began appearing on the rebooted "NXT", where he started a winning streak by defeating several wrestlers, including Derrick Bateman and Percy Watson. On the August 8 episode of "NXT", Mahal was inserted into the Gold Rush tournament to crown the first NXT Champion, where he defeated Bo Dallas in the first round. On the August 15 episode of "NXT", Mahal defeated Richie Steamboat in the semi-finals of the Gold Rush Tournament. On the August 29 episode of "NXT", Mahal was defeated by Seth Rollins in the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament, thus ending his NXT winning streak. At the Night of Champions pre-show on September 16, Mahal competed in the 16-man battle royal to become number one contender for the United States Championship, but was eliminated by Brodus Clay.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On the September 21 episode of "SmackDown", Mahal and Drew McIntyre interfered in Heath Slater's match against Brodus Clay by attacking Clay. The alliance of Mahal, Slater and McIntyre were later named 3MB. From October 2012, 3MB racked up many wins against Team Co-Bro (Santino Marella and Zack Ryder) and The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso), all of them due to illegal interference. At the Survivor Series pre-show on November 18, Mahal and Slater defeated Marella and Ryder when Mahal pinned Ryder. At on December 16, 3MB were defeated by the team of Alberto Del Rio, The Brooklyn Brawler and The Miz. The next night on "Raw" at the Slammy Awards show, 3MB lost to Del Rio, Miz and Tommy Dreamer. Mahal competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013, by entering at number 27, but was eliminated by Sheamus. On the April 12 episode of "SmackDown", in an attempt to make a name for themselves, 3MB tried to attack Triple H, but were attacked themselves by The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins). On the April 15 episode of "Raw", 3MB called out The Shield, only for Brock Lesnar to come out instead and attack the group. At the Night of Champions pre-show on September 15, 3MB (Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater) competed in a number one contenders tag team turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, in which they were the last team eliminated by Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai).


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In late 2013, 3MB began adopting new ring names against their opponents, although their misfortunes and amounting losses remained the same. At WrestleMania XXX on April 6, Mahal competed in the André the Giant Memorial battle royal, but was eliminated by Mark Henry. In April, 3MB formed an alliance with Hornswoggle to feud with Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando). On June 12, Mahal was released from his WWE contract.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Dhesi wrestled for Reality of Wrestling (ROW) under the name Raj Singh at their summer iPPV, ROW Summer of Champions 2014, defeating Jasper Davis. On October 24 at All Star Wrestling (ASW) in Vancouver BC at the live event Fright Night Live, Singh teamed with his cousin Gama Singh Jr. to defeat Kyle Sebastian and Collin Cutler to win the ASW Tag Team Championship. Between 2014 and 2015, he appeared in Puerto Rican promotion the World Wrestling Council (WWC) against local star Ray Gonzalez. He also participated in Qatar Pro Wrestling (QPW) Souq Waqif Championship tournament in April 2015, where he ended up as first runner up. On May 5, Singh made his debut for Japanese promotion Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), losing to Wang Bin. In 2016, he also wrestled for The Great Khali's wrestling promotion Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) in India.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In a 2017 interview on Chris Jericho's "Talk is Jericho" podcast, Mahal revealed that he "hit rock bottom" during his time in the independent circuit. He also mentioned that he stopped drinking alcohol and began working out and eating cleaner, losing 20 pounds in the process, two months prior to WWE calling him to return.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On July 27, Mahal re-signed with the WWE. On the August 1 episode of "Raw", Mahal returned to television alongside Heath Slater, demanding contracts until Raw General Manager Mick Foley informed the pair that they had to face each other in a match for a Raw contract, which Mahal won. Throughout the rest of the month on "Raw", Mahal began losing to the likes of Neville, Sami Zayn and Darren Young. Mahal then adopted the gimmick of a "man who comes in peace", advocating peace and tranquility. On the September 12 episode of "Raw", Mahal stated that after he left WWE he "felt anger and rage" and had since "found inner peace" before defeating Jack Swagger. Afterwards, Mahal began competing on "Main Event" and "Superstars", where he often traded wins and losses against Darren Young.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On the December 19 episode of "Raw", a notably more lean and muscular Mahal began an alliance with Rusev after Mahal had a confrontation with Rusev's rival Enzo Amore before the two attacked Amore. On the January 2, 2017 episode of "Raw", Mahal and Rusev defeated Amore's tag team partner Big Cass in a 2-on-1 handicap match. The following week on "Raw", Mahal lost to Cass (who had Shawn Michaels at ringside) after Michaels performed the "Sweet Chin Music" on Rusev at ringside, which distracted Mahal. On the February 27 episode of "Raw", Mahal and Rusev began to show tension after Rusev inadvertently distracted Mahal, causing the two to lose to The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods). The alliance between Mahal and Rusev ended at Fastlane on March 5, when Mahal informed Raw General Manager Mick Foley about his desire to return to singles competition, prompting Foley to place the duo in singles matches that night and with both Mahal and Rusev losing their respective matches against Cesaro and Big Show. This was done due to Rusev suffering a legit shoulder injury.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On April 3 at the WrestleMania 33 preshow, Mahal was the runner-up in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, being eliminated last by Mojo Rawley after interference from Rob Gronkowski. On April 11, Mahal was moved to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shake-up. On that night, he lost to Rawley after another interference from Gronkowski to end their feud.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On the April 18 episode of "SmackDown Live", Mahal won a six-pack challenge also involving Mojo Rawley, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Sami Zayn to earn a title match for the WWE Championship after interference from Mahal's new allies, The Singh Brothers (Samir and Sunil Singh). As part of the storyline, Mahal attacked WWE Champion Randy Orton, stealing the championship belt and costing Orton his match with Bray Wyatt at Payback on April 30. On the May 2 episode of "SmackDown Live", SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon forced Mahal to return the title belt. Mahal went on to defeat Sami Zayn later in the episode and pin Randy Orton in a six-man tag team match to earn his team the victory the following week on SmackDown. On May 21 at Backlash, Mahal defeated Orton to win the WWE Championship (his first championship in WWE), becoming the 50th recognized WWE Champion and the first of Indian descent. After Mahal held a Punjabi celebration for his WWE Championship win, Orton invoked his rematch clause for Money in the Bank on June 18; with WWE Hall of Famers Bob Orton Jr., Ric Flair, and Sgt. Slaughter at ringside, Mahal defeated Orton in his first title defence. When an irate Orton demanded another match, McMahon granted it on the condition that Mahal would choose the stipulation, which was revealed to be a Punjabi Prison match. With Mahal referring to The Great Khali as his "personal hero", Khali eventually made his return at Battleground on July 23 to help Mahal defeat Orton and retain the title.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On the August 15 episode of "SmackDown Live", Baron Corbin cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Mahal, who had just lost to John Cena by disqualification. However, Mahal retained the title by pinning a distracted Corbin with a roll-up. In the following weeks, Mahal started a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura over the championship, retaining the title against him at SummerSlam on August 20 after interference by The Singh Brothers. In a rematch between the two, which took place on October 8 at Hell in a Cell, Mahal once again defeated Nakamura to retain the title. On the October 17 episode of "SmackDown Live", Mahal challenged Universal Champion Brock Lesnar to a match at Survivor Series, However, Mahal lost the WWE Championship to AJ Styles on the November 7 episode of "SmackDown Live", ending his reign at 170 days. Mahal received his rematch for the title against Styles at Clash of Champions on December 17, but he lost by submission. After Mahal lost his rematch, he continued his feud with Styles for the WWE Championship at live events throughout December and January, albeit without success.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: After dropping the WWE Championship, Mahal was quickly inserted into the United States Championship picture after previous champion Dolph Ziggler vacated the title on the December 19 episode of "SmackDown Live". He competed in an eight-man tournament to crown a new champion, defeating Tye Dillinger and Xavier Woods in the first round and semi-finals, respectively. The Singh Brothers attacked Bobby Roode. The following week, Mahal lost to Roode in the finals. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Mahal entered the Rumble match at number 17, eliminating Big E and Xavier Woods and before being eliminated by Kofi Kingston. On the February 20 episode of "SmackDown Live", Mahal got into a brawl with Bobby Roode and Randy Orton. After defeating both Roode and Orton, Mahal demanded that he should be United States Champion on the Fastlane preshow. When Orton won the United States Championship later that night, Mahal came out to taunt him but both Mahal and Orton received a "Glorious DDT" by former champion, Bobby Roode. On the March 20 episode of "SmackDown Live", Orton was scheduled to defend the United States Championship at WrestleMania 34 in a triple threat against Mahal and Roode. The following week, Mahal teamed with Rusev to defeat Roode and Orton, leading to Rusev being added to the title match. At WrestleMania 34, Mahal pinned Rusev to capture the United States Championship. On April 16, as part of Superstar Shake-up, Mahal was traded back to Raw, taking the United States Championship with him. On the same night, though, he lost the championship to Jeff Hardy, ending his reign at just 8 days. On April 27 at Greatest Royal Rumble event, Mahal failed to win back the United States Championship from Hardy.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On the May 7 episode of "Raw", after defeating Chad Gable, Mahal was denied entry into the triple threat Money in the Bank qualifying match by General Manager Kurt Angle, which led to Mahal interfering and costing Roman Reigns the match later that night. The following week, Mahal was scheduled to compete in another triple threat Money in the Bank qualifying match against Bobby Lashley and Elias, but he was attacked by Reigns before the match. At Money in the Bank, Mahal lost to Reigns.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: The night after on "Raw", Mahal returned as the "man who comes in peace" and defeated Chad Gable. In July, Mahal was inserted into the feud between Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens, defeating Strowman via countout and disqualification after distractions from Owens. On the August 13 episode of "Raw", Mahal and Owens were defeated by Strowman and Finn Bálor when Strowman pinned Mahal. Starting in September Mahal competed in the second iteration of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge, teaming with Alicia Fox as "Mahalicia". The duo lost all of their matches save for the final one, in which they defeated Bobby Roode and Natalya, to advance to the playoffs as the lowest ranked team on "Raw". In the quarterfinals they upset the highest-ranked team of Curt Hawkins and Ember Moon, after Mahal pinned Hawkins. Mahal and Fox qualified for the finals by defeating Apollo Crews and Bayley in the semi finals. At the pay-per-view on December 16, Mahal and Fox lost the final to R-Truth and Carmella.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: On January 27, 2019, Mahal participated in the Royal Rumble match, entering at number 7, before being eliminated by Johnny Gargano. At WrestleMania 35, Mahal competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win. As part of Superstar Shake-up, Mahal was moved to the SmackDown brand. In his first match back on the April 23 episode of "SmackDown", he was scheduled to face Chad Gable, but the latter was blindsided by Lars Sullivan. On June 2, Mahal captured the 24/7 Championship after pinning champion R-Truth on a golf course, but dropped the title right back to Truth immediately afterwards due to a distraction by Carmella. Four days later, he defeated Truth for the title by pinning him on an airport tarmac, becoming a two-time 24/7 Champion, but Truth won the title back hours later when he pinned a sleeping Mahal inside of the airplane. On June 28, WWE announced that Mahal suffered a knee injury and it was reported that the injury would sideline him for six to twelve months. As part of the 2019 draft, Mahal was drafted to the Raw brand. On the April 27, 2020 episode of "Raw", Mahal returned from injury, now sporting a shaved head, defeating Akira Tozawa. A month later, it was revealed that Mahal underwent another surgery to fix complications in his knee.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: After a nine-month absence, Mahal appeared at the Superstar Spectacle on January 26, 2021, reuniting with The Singh Brothers but lost to Drew McIntyre and Indus Sher (Rinku and Saurav) in a six-man tag team match. He returned again on the May 3 episode of "Main Event", being accompanied by Shanky and Veer, where he defeated Jeff Hardy. In June, Mahal would begin with a feud with Drew McIntyre after Mahal took to question with the amount of title opportunities he had received over the past year. At Money in the Bank, Mahal interfered in the titular match attacking McIntyre with Shanky and Veer carrying him away from the match. The following night on "Raw", Mahal, Shanky, and Veer gloated about costing McIntyre the match only for McIntyre to attack all three with a steel chair. At SummerSlam, Mahal lost to McIntyre.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: As part of the 2021 Draft, both Mahal and Shanky were drafted to the SmackDown brand while Veer remained on the Raw brand, ending their alliance with Veer. In October, Mahal entered the King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Kofi Kingston in the first round, but lost to Xavier Woods in the semi-finals. At Survivor Series, Mahal would be a part of The Rock's 25th anniversary battle royal, but was eliminated. On the April 15, 2022 edition of "SmackDown", Mahal would challenge Ricochet for the Intercontinental Championship but was unsuccessful.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Dhesi, as Jinder Mahal, appears in the wrestling video games "WWE '13", "WWE 2K14", "WWE 2K18", "WWE 2K19", "WWE 2K20", and "WWE 2K22".


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In November 2021, Dhesi announced he was joining the cast of the ABC drama series "Big Sky". He debuted on the 22nd episode ("Heart-shaped Charm") as Dhruv, the enforcer of Ren's brother Jag. Through April 7, 2022, he has appeared in 9 episodes of Big Sky.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: Dhesi is an Indo-Canadian from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and currently resides in Tampa, Florida, United States. He is fluent in English and his family's native Indian languages of Hindi and Punjabi. Dhesi is friends with mixed martial artist and fellow Indo-Canadian, Arjan Bhullar. He is also good friends with American professional wrestler Heath and Scottish professional wrestler Drew McIntyre, and was a groomsman at McIntyre's wedding.


title: Jinder Mahal

text: In 2017, Canadian politician Graham Sucha tabled three documents before the Assembly, formally congratulating Dhesi for winning the WWE Championship. During the 2019 Canadian federal election, Dhesi endorsed Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party for Prime Minister.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: A Hidden Life is a 2019 epic historical drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick. It stars August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, and Matthias Schoenaerts with Michael Nyqvist in his final performance. The film depicts the life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. The title is taken from George Eliot's "Middlemarch":...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.Eliot in turn derived it from a phrase in the New Testament, the Epistle to the Colossians 3:3: "For you died, and [now] your life is hidden with Christ in God."


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019 and was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019. It received critical acclaim upon release and was the final feature film to be released under the Fox Searchlight Pictures name before Walt Disney Studios changed the company's name to Searchlight Pictures on January 17, 2020.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: Austrian peasant farmer Franz Jägerstätter, born and brought up in the small village of St. Radegund, is working his land when war breaks out. Married to Franziska, colloquially Fani, the couple are important members of the tight-knit rural community. They live a simple life with the passing years marked by the arrival of the couple's three girls. Franz is called up for basic training in the German army and is away from his beloved wife and children for months. Eventually, when France surrenders and it seems the war might end soon, he is sent back from training.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: With his mother and sister-in-law Resie, he and his wife farm the land and raise their children amid the mountains and valleys of upper Austria, cutting hay and gathering. As the war goes on, Jägerstätter and the other able-bodied men in the village are called up to fight. Their first requirement is to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Despite pressure from the mayor and his neighbors, who increasingly ostracize him and his family, and from the Bishop of Linz, Jägerstätter refuses. Wrestling with the knowledge that his decision will mean arrest and even death, he finds strength in his faith in God, his prayers, and Fani's love and support. He is taken to prison, first in Enns, then in Berlin and waits months for his trial. During his time in prison, he and Fani write letters to each other and give each other strength. Fani and their daughters are victims of growing hostility in the village over her husband's decision not to fight. Fani is eventually able to visit her husband in Berlin.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: After months of brutal incarceration, Jägerstätter's case goes to trial. He is found guilty and sentenced to death. Despite many opportunities to sign the oath of allegiance, and the promise of non-combatant work, he continues to refuse and is executed by the Third Reich on August 9, 1943, while his wife and daughters survive.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: On June 23, 2016, reports emerged that the film, then titled "Radegund", would depict the life of Austria’s Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector during World War II who was put to death at age 36 for undermining military actions, and was later declared a martyr and beatified by the Catholic Church. It was announced that August Diehl was set to play Jägerstätter and Valerie Pachner to play his wife, Franziska Jägerstätter. Jörg Widmer was appointed as the director of photography, having worked in all of Malick's films since "The New World" (2005) as a camera operator.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: Malick said "A Hidden Life" would have a more structured narrative than his previous works: "Lately—I keep insisting, only very lately—have I been working without a script and I've lately repented the idea. The last picture we shot, and we're now cutting, went back to a script that was very well ordered." This makes it his first linear, plot-driven film since 2005's The New World. He added, "There’s a lot of strain when working without a script because you can lose track of where you are. It’s very hard to coordinate with others who are working on the film. Production designers and location managers arrive in the morning and don’t know what we’re going to shoot or where we’re going to shoot. The reason we did it was to try and get moments that are spontaneous and free. As a movie director, you always feel with a script that you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And with no script, there’s no round hole, there’s just air. But I’m backing away from that style now."


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: Malick obtained rights to the book "Franz Jägerstätter: Letters and Writings from Prison", edited by Erna Putz, for the film.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: The film began production in Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany in summer 2016. From 11 July to 19 August 2016 the production shot on location in South Tyrol. Locations there were the church of St. Valentin in Seis am Schlern, the valley of Gsies, the village of Rodeneck, the mills in Terenten, the meadows of Albions in Lajen, the Seiser Alm, the Taufers Castle, the Fane Alm in Mühlbach, the Puez-Geisler Nature Park, the renaissance Velthurns Castle in the village of Feldthurns, the Franzensfeste Fortress, the gardens of the bishop's Hofburg in Brixen and the Neustift cloister.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: In August 2016, reports emerged that some of the film's scenes were shot in the small Italian mountain village of Sappada.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: Actor Franz Rogowski said in a March 2019 interview that no one knew how the film would turn out or when it would be released, considering that it had been in post-production for more than two years at that point. Rogowski added that Malick is "a director who creates spaces rather than produces scenes; his editing style is like that."


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: The film's score is by James Newton Howard and features violinist James Ehnes, who also performed Howard's violin concerto released in 2018. It was released by Sony Classical Records on December 6, 2019. Of the score, Howard said, "It is a spiritual-sounding score... Terry often spoke about the suffering inherent in love, and you feel yearning, suffering and love in that piece". The score features 40 minutes of original score mixed with selected classical works by Bach, Handel, Dvořák, Górecki, Pärt and others. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in one day in June 2018 with a 40-piece string section conducted by Pete Anthony with Shawn Murphy as score mixer.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: "A Hidden Life" premiered in competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2019. The next day, it was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures for $12–14 million. The film screened at the Vatican Film Library on December 4, 2019, with Malick making a rare public appearance to introduce the film. It was released in limited release in the U.S. on December 13, 2019, followed by a wide release in January.


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "Ambitious and visually absorbing, "A Hidden Life" may prove inscrutable to non-devotees—but for viewers on Malick's wavelength, it should only further confirm his genius." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: A Hidden Life (2019 film)

text: Peter DeBruge of "Variety" writes: "Whether or not he is specifically referring to the present day, its demagogues, and the way certain evangelicals have once again sold out their core values for political advantage, "A Hidden Life" feels stunningly relevant as it thrusts this problem into the light." Jägerstätter biographer Erna Putz was touched by the film's spirituality after a private screening in June 2019, saying that Malick had made an "independent and universal work". She also considered Diehl's and Pachner's performances to be accurate to who Franz and Franziska were ("Franz, as I know him from the letters, and Franziska, as I know from encounters").


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a 2002 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. An installment in "The Legend of Zelda" series, it was released in Japan in December 2002, in North America in March 2003, and in Europe in May 2003.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The game is set on a group of islands in a vast sea, a departure for the series. The player controls series protagonist Link as he attempts to save his sister from the sorcerer Ganon and becomes embroiled in a struggle for the Triforce, a sacred wish-granting relic. Aided by allies including pirate captain Tetra – an incarnation of Princess Zelda – and a talking boat named the King of Red Lions, Link sails the ocean, explores islands, and traverses dungeons to acquire the power necessary to defeat Ganon. Wind, which facilitates sailing, plays a prominent role and can be controlled with a magic conductor's baton called the Wind Waker.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker" was directed by Eiji Aonuma and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Development began in 2000. It retains the basic 3D gameplay of its predecessors, "Ocarina of Time" and "Majora's Mask", but the team chose to avoid the realistic graphics of previous games. Instead, they implemented a distinctive cartoon-like art style created through cel shading.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: At its release, "The Wind Waker" received critical acclaim for its visuals, gameplay, level design, music, and story. The art direction proved divisive among players and contributed to comparatively weak sales; the game sold 4.6 million copies, far below the 7.6 million sold by "Ocarina of Time". As a result, Nintendo changed directions with the next major "Zelda" installment, the more realistically styled "Twilight Princess". However, "The Wind Waker" reputation improved over time, and it is now widely considered one of the greatest video games ever made. "The Wind Waker" popularized the "Toon Link" character, and received two direct sequels for the Nintendo DS, "Phantom Hourglass" (2007) and "" (2009). A high-definition remaster, "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD", was released for the Wii U in September 2013.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" is an open world action-adventure game with role-playing elements. The control scheme is comparable to its predecessors: the player moves the protagonist Link in three dimensions from a third-person perspective. Link fights with a sword and shield as well as a variety of other weapons and items. He interacts with non-player characters and objects via the action button. Like the previous games, "The Wind Waker" features a targeting system allowing Link to "lock on" and constantly face an enemy or target. A new feature is the ability to move the camera system around Link. Onscreen meters track Link's health and magic; Link can expand his health meter by finding "heart containers" and container pieces in the game.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The game world comprises 49 gridded sections of the "Great Sea", each containing an island or island chain. Some must be explored to continue the story, while others are optional. Like all "Zelda" games, "The Wind Waker" features several dungeons—large, enclosed areas where Link fights enemies, finds items, and solves puzzles to continue. Each dungeon quest concludes with a battle against a boss, a singularly powerful enemy. In addition to the main story, the game includes many sidequests, minor objectives the player can optionally complete to attain rewards. For example, Link can use the "Picto Box" – an in-game camera – to take pictures to fulfill quests.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Throughout the game, Link acquires items and weapons that provide new abilities. Items are often needed to reach certain areas, defeat bosses or other enemies, and advance the story. For example, the grappling hook is necessary to pass obstacles and defeat the boss in the Dragon Roost Cavern dungeon; it can then be used to enter previously inaccessible areas elsewhere. The "Tingle Tuner" is a special item allowing a second player to control the character Tingle if the system is connected to a Game Boy Advance by a link cable.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: A significant portion of the game is spent sailing between islands on Link's boat, the King of Red Lions. The boat's sail is driven by wind that blows across the game world in one of eight directions; a tailwind behind the boat will give it top speed, while sailing against the wind is difficult. The Great Sea features enemies and obstacles different from those found on land; additionally, some items serve new purposes while Link is aboard the King of Red Lions. The grappling hook, for example, serves as a crane for recovering sunken treasure. Link explores the sea with the help of a sea chart, which can be updated with information on each square and island. Through the game, Link acquires additional charts pointing the way to treasure chests and significant locations. On land, dungeons feature similar maps.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Early in the game, Link receives the Wind Waker, a baton which allows him to control the wind and harness other powers by "conducting" specific melodies. The player controls the Wind Waker by moving the joypads to change pitch and time signature. The first melody, the "Wind's Requiem", enables Link to change the wind's direction, allowing him to sail anywhere. Link can learn five other tunes for the Wind Waker, which provide abilities such as warping to other regions and turning night to day.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: According to "", Nintendo's official "Legend of Zelda" chronology, "The Wind Waker" takes place in the "New World" timeline, one of several parallel timelines in which "Zelda" games are set following the events of "Ocarina of Time". The game follows the "Adult Link" timeline, after Link, the "Hero of Time", defeats Ganon and time-travels back to his childhood. A crisis emerges when Ganon returns, but Link does not. Centuries later, the people live on islands in the Great Sea. They preserve Link's story as a legend, but his kingdom's fate is unknown. The main character, a young boy also named Link, lives on Outset Island, where boys dress in green like the Hero of Time when they come of age.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: While Link is celebrating his coming of age, a gigantic bird drops pirate captain Tetra into Outset Island's forest. Link rescues Tetra from monsters, but the bird carries off Link's sister Aryll. Tetra agrees to help Link find his sister, and they sail to the Forsaken Fortress, where the bird, the Helmaroc King, has been taking girls with long ears. Link finds Aryll and other kidnapped girls, but the Helmaroc King captures him and takes him to a man in black, who orders Link thrown into the sea.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Link is rescued at Windfall Island by a talking boat, the King of Red Lions, who explains that the bird's master is a returned Ganon. To defeat him, Link must find the Hero of Time's power, which requires the three Pearls of the Goddesses. Link finds Din's Pearl on Dragon Roost Island, home of the avian Rito and the dragon Valoo; Farore's Pearl in Forest Haven, home of the Great Deku Tree and the plant-like Koroks; and Nayru's Pearl with the water spirit Jabun on Outset Island. The King of Red Lions then takes Link to the Tower of the Gods, where he faces trials before descending beneath the ocean to a castle suspended in time. Here Link finds the Hero of Time's weapon, the Master Sword.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Link returns to the Forsaken Fortress. Tetra's crew arrive and rescue the girls, but Ganon easily overpowers Link and Tetra: the Master Sword has lost its power. Ganon recognizes Tetra's Triforce necklace and realizes she is the incarnation of Princess Zelda he is seeking. Link's Rito allies and Valoo save Link and Tetra from Ganon. The King of Red Lions brings the two back to the underwater realm, explaining it is the legendary kingdom of Hyrule, which the goddesses submerged long ago to contain Ganon while the people fled to the mountaintops. The King of Red Lions reveals himself to be Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, the last King of Hyrule, and Tetra is his heir, Zelda, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Tetra remains in the castle while Link and the King journey to the two sages who provided the Master Sword's power. They discover Ganon's forces murdered them both, so Link must awaken new sages: the Rito Medli and the Korok Makar. The sages restore the Master Sword, but the King learns that Ganon has abandoned the Forsaken Fortress and fears an attack. They then track down the eight shards of the missing Triforce of Courage, once kept by the Hero of Time, and the gods recognize Link as the Hero of Winds.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Link and the King return to Hyrule to discover that Ganon has captured Tetra. Link follows them to Ganon's tower, defeating Ganon's minions before Ganon overcomes him. Ganon joins Link's and Tetra's Triforce pieces with his own Triforce of Power, forming the complete Triforce, which will grant his wish to rule the world. Before he can act, the King of Hyrule appears and wishes that the Goddesses wash Ganon and Hyrule away, and grant Link and Tetra hope for their own future. Link and Tetra battle Ganon with the Master Sword and magical arrows as water pours around them; with the final blow, the Master Sword turns Ganon to stone. Link and Tetra rise to the surface as the King and Hyrule are submerged. After reuniting with their friends the heroes sail off to find a new land.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Nintendo's "Zelda" team initiated plans for a new game early in the development of the GameCube system, before "Majora's Mask" was completed for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Eiji Aonuma, director of "Majora's Mask", returned to helm the project, while Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, the creators of the "Zelda" series, served as producers. Early concepts generally followed "Ocarina of Time"s designs, with graphics enhanced for the new system's capabilities. The team hastily created a brief clip of Link fighting Ganondorf for a demonstration at the 2000 Space World exposition, where Nintendo announced the GameCube. The clip resonated with fans and commentators who hoped it previewed the next "Zelda" game.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The "Zelda" team, however, had exhausted its ideas for this style and format. Aonuma hated the demo, finding it derivative of past "Zelda" games. The team explored other directions until designer Yoshiki Haruhana created a cartoonish drawing of a young Link that caught their eye. Design manager Satoru Takizawa drew up an enemy Moblin in a similar style, and the team seized on the new gameplay and combat possibilities afforded by the stylized cartoon aesthetic. To achieve this look, they used cel shading on 3D models, giving the look of an interactive cartoon. The developers built the game with Alias/Wavefront's Maya 3D tool and a custom game engine. Aonuma initially kept the development quiet as he worried that Miyamoto would take issue with the cartoon style.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: With this decision, development proceeded swiftly. The team quickly decided the setting would be islands in an ocean, determining it would provide interesting visuals and mechanics in the cel-shaded style. This in turn inspired the central sailing feature. As Aonuma predicted, some features drew skepticism from producers Miyamoto and Tezuka. For instance, they requested an explanation for the characters' exaggeratedly large eyes. Aonuma's team jokingly suggested having Link shoot beams from his eyes before deciding to have him focus his gaze on significant objects nearby, giving hints to observant players about what to do next. Miyamoto remained dubious of the art direction and reminded Aonuma that it was not too late to change course. Ultimately he relented due to the team's enthusiasm about the cartoon style and the fact that it could have taken a decade to make a more realistic "Zelda" with their resources.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Nintendo presented a demo clip of the new game at the 2001 Space World, August 23–26. Response to the cel-shaded design was divided. While some attendees enjoyed the new look, there was backlash from disappointed fans who had hoped for a more realistic "Zelda" like the previous year's demo. Critics derisively dubbed the game "Celda". Miyamoto was surprised at the response and decided to limit revealing further information about the game until the team finished a playable demonstration, hoping to shift focus from the graphics to the gameplay.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Miyamoto introduced a playable demo at the next year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on May 22–24, 2002, alongside another upcoming GameCube "Zelda", "". Miyamoto encountered glitches while he attempted to demonstrate Link's new ability to use enemies' dropped weapons. However, reception was more positive than that for the Space World demo. The game received the 2002 Game Critics Awards for Best Console Game at E3. IGN editor Fran Mirabella said the cartoon look "works very nicely" and that "it feels very much like "Zelda"". The whimsical style was compared to "" and promotional artwork from previous "Zelda" games. The E3 demo also introduced new features, such as the ability to connect to the Game Boy Advance and receive help from Tingle. However, the art direction continued to divide audiences.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Development continued through late 2002, with targeted release dates of December in Japan and early 2003 in North America. During the final stages, two dungeons that fell behind schedule were cut and replaced with a quest to recover Triforce pieces around the Great Sea. Elements of these dungeons were recycled for later "Zelda" games. On October 15, 2002, Nintendo revealed the game's Japanese subtitle, "Kaze no Takuto" ("Wind Baton"), to emphasize the role of wind in the game. The company announced the English title, "The Wind Waker", on December 2, 2002. In the gap between the Japanese and North American releases, the designers reworked some segments, notably shortening the lengthy Triforce quest.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The music in "The Wind Waker" was composed by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, and Koji Kondo. The sound team was significantly larger than for other contemporary projects to accommodate Nintendo's desire for a high caliber of work in the rushed development schedule. Koji Kondo, the primary composer for "The Legend of Zelda" series, contributed to the score but did not serve as sound director. However, the score incorporated some of his pieces from older "Zelda" games, modifying them to emphasize the time passed between the stories.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The soundtrack is primarily environmental; it modulates between various tracks depending on location, time and other conditions. Much of the score is inspired by traditional Irish music and is overall lighter and more upbeat than previous scores in the series. The advancement of MIDI technology allowed the soundtrack to more closely approximate the sounds of real instruments than was possible in previous installments. The score features strings, winds, brass, percussion, and for the first time in the "Zelda" series, wordless vocals. The vocals are especially prominent in the tunes Link conducts with the Wind Waker, singing in D major. Shigeru Miyamoto reportedly played the mandolin featured in the "Title Theme". Scitron Digital Content released a two-disc, 133-track soundtrack album, "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Original Sound Tracks", on March 19, 2003.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker" was released on December 13, 2002, in Japan, on March 24, 2003, in North America, and on May 2, 2003, in Europe. To promote the release, Nintendo offered a bonus disc as a pre-order incentive which included a GameCube port of "Ocarina of Time" as well as its previously unreleased expansion, "Ura Zelda". "Ura Zelda", largely an adaptation of "Ocarina of Time" with some changes, including new dungeon challenges, had been developed for the Nintendo 64's 64DD peripheral, but was shelved when that system failed. "Ura Zelda" was named "Ocarina of Time Master Quest" in North America and Europe. "Ocarina of Time/Master Quest" discs became popular items in their own right in North America, with some customers making and then cancelling preorders to get them. To avoid this issue in Europe, Nintendo released the item only in two-disc packages with "The Wind Waker".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: In May 2003, Nintendo bundled "The Wind Waker" with limited edition GameCubes in North America and Europe. On November 17 that year, Nintendo launched another promotion via a compilation disc, "The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition". The disc includes ports of the original "Legend of Zelda", "", "Ocarina of Time", and "Majora's Mask", as well as a "Wind Waker" demo and two featurettes. The "Collector's Edition" was included in another GameCube bundle and was made available to existing GameCube owners who either registered their system or subscribed to "Nintendo Power".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: In 2013, Nintendo developed a high definition re-release of "The Wind Waker", "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD", for the Wii U. The inspiration came when staff converted elements from various games to explore the system's capabilities while planning for "". The developers experimented with several "Zelda" games, but were especially struck by how well "The Wind Waker" translated into high definition. When the team determined it would take less than a year to remaster the entire game, Aonuma approached Miyamoto about developing it. He faced considerable reluctance from management due to players' mixed response in 2003, but Miyamoto ultimately greenlit development as Nintendo staff had found that opinions of the game had warmed over the years. Aonuma served as producer, while Daiki Iwamoto served as director. The soundtrack was updated by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Asuka Hayazaki, and Atsuko Asahi. While the game was developed in-house at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD), high-resolution textures were produced with the help of a few external companies. The entire project took six months to develop.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker HD" features high definition graphics and improved lighting. The Wii U GamePad's touchscreen serves as a map and inventory, eliminating the need to toggle between gameplay and the menu interface. Players can use motion controls to control the Wind Waker. Some weapons, like the bow, can be aimed using the GamePad's gyroscope, as in "". The game offers Off-TV Play which enables the player to play the game solely on the Wii U GamePad. The game can also be played on the Wii U Pro Controller, a controller similar to the one used in the original game. The developers made some changes to the gameplay as well: they introduced a new item, the "Swift Sail", allowing for faster sailing on the Great Sea. They also streamlined the Triforce quest, improved the Picto Box, and replaced the Tingle Tuner, which had required connectivity with a Game Boy Advance, with a Tingle Bottle item that connected to the Miiverse prior to its shutdown on November 8, 2017.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: A limited-edition console bundle that combines both a digital version of game and the Deluxe Wii U console was released on September 20, 2013, in North America. The black console features a GamePad with a golden Hylian Crest and golden "The Wind Waker"-styled Hylian letters and symbols. A redemption code for a digital copy of "" was also included. A Ganondorf figurine was released with a special edition copy of the game, available exclusively through GameStop.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker" received widespread critical acclaim. Review aggregator website Metacritic calculated a score of 96/100 based on 80 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". It was the fourth game to receive a perfect score from the Japanese magazine "Famitsu", and additionally earned perfect scores from "Computer and Video Games", "Game Informer", "Game Pro", "Nintendo Power", and Planet GameCube. It received high marks from many other reviewers as well, although it did not reach the levels of critical acclaim that had greeted "Ocarina of Time".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: While often noting fans' ambivalence about the cel shading, critics praised the game's visuals. Reviewers likened the game to a playable cartoon, with several positively comparing the animation to the films of Disney and Hayao Miyazaki. In particular, critics appreciated the characters' unique expressiveness, and found that the fine details and environments added richness to the game world. "Famitsu"s reviewers wrote that the rich design brings all the game's elements together into a cohesive whole. "Electronic Gaming Monthly"s reviewers found the animation quality unparalleled in games and wrote that ""The Wind Waker"s new look is as effective as it is unique". Matt Casamassina of "IGN" said that though some fans hold distaste for the graphics, Nintendo's execution represented the pinnacle of the GameCube's capabilities and of cel shading technology. Jeff Gerstmann of "GameSpot" said that skepticism about the visuals was "unfounded" and wrote that the character design "adds emotional weight" to the storyline. One "Nintendo Power" reviewer wrote that though he was initially skeptical, the visuals worked "brilliantly, framing the most enjoyable game play experience I've had since "Ocarina of Time"".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Critics also lauded the gameplay, in particular the responsive control system, fluid combat, and puzzles. Several reviews noted the similarity of its gameplay to that of "Ocarina of Time", though they praised enhancements such as the ability to move the camera, perform counterattacks, and use enemy items. "IGN" reassured players that beyond visual differences between "The Wind Waker" and "Ocarina", "these two games are very much alike". "Game Informer" wrote that the gameplay expanded upon that in its predecessors to become "far greater, deeper, and more complex", while "Electronic Gaming Monthly" said that ""Wind Waker"s core gameplay is the best the series has ever had". On the other hand, "Edge" said that while the game would awe new players, its similarity to previous "Zelda" games meant that veteran players may find it "'merely' brilliant". "Famitsu" wrote that the game's user friendliness would appeal even to novice players. "IGN" praised the intuitive controls, the especially interactive environment, and the variety of game actions, which "can be executed with a precision that few other games could offer". "GameSpot" appreciated the breadth of items that can be used. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" said that the high variety of options for progressing through fights and puzzles kept the game from ever getting boring. "GamePro"s Star Dingo enjoyed the variety of combo attacks and puzzles, calling the game "a combination of vivid artistry and timeless gameplay".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Other elements that commonly received praise include the expansive game world and level design, especially in the dungeons. The storyline also received praise; "Nintendo Power" called the game "a masterpiece of style and storytelling". Several critics lauded the score and soundtrack, though some noted the lack of voice acting as a drawback.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The game's most common criticism is the heavy emphasis on sailing, especially later in the game when Link must trek around the ocean to collect Triforce pieces. "GameSpot" wrote that while the main quest "starts out in a very brisk manner", by the last third of the game, the "focus on sailing ... is pretty tedious". "Edge" wrote that the sailing was "convincingly organic", but even with the warp feature, "there remains an awful lot of relatively dull seafaring activity". Others complained about having to use the Wind Waker so frequently to change wind direction. IGN wrote that using the device became "a tedious nuisance" and that the inability to skip the accompanying animation was "more bothersome still". Some reviewers enjoyed the sailing; two "Electronic Gaming Monthly" reviewers appreciated the combat, exploration, and side quests available at sea. Another common criticism was the game's comparatively low level of difficulty. "IGN" wrote that once the player added enough hearts to Link's health meter, "he becomes nearly invincible, which is a true shortcoming as far as we concerned".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Several publications named "The Wind Waker" Game of the Year, including "GameSpot", "Nintendo Power", GameFAQs, Planet GameCube, and "Games" magazine. "IGN" gave it the Readers' Choice award for 2003 and named it Best Adventure Game for the GameCube. The game was ranked 157th in Electronic Gaming Monthly's "The Top 200 Video Games of Their Time" in 2006. It received the Excellence in Visual Arts award at the 2004 Game Developers Choice Awards and was a finalist for the GDCA Game of the Year award. It also won the Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction award at the 2004 Interactive Achievement Awards and received seven other nominations, including Console Game of the Year.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Player response to the game remained divided over the cel-shaded design. Reception was comparatively warm in Japan, where various media commonly borrow an anime aesthetic, but was much more divided in North America. Some players appreciated the design and Aonuma's vision, but others found it childish and too far removed from the more realistic designs of previous games. According to Stephen Totilo of "Kotaku", much of the backlash came from a contemporary anxiety that Nintendo was losing its edge by focusing on games for children, as opposed to the more mature, realistic fare developed by competitors.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker" generated the most successful pre-order campaign in Nintendo history at the time. However, sales did not live up to expectations; director Aonuma noted that purchases were disappointing in both Japan and North America. Japanese sales suffered from a general decline in the video game market caused by consumers shifting away from games, a phenomenon known as "gamer drift". The overall market remained strong in North America, but "The Wind Waker"s sales were slow there and had declined markedly by the time they reached one million. "The Wind Waker" sold 4.6 million copies, far below the 7.6 million record set by "Ocarina of Time". Nintendo of America attributed the game's comparatively weak North American sales in large part to the cel-shaded graphics, which turned off many players, particularly older teenagers who made up "The Legend of Zelda"s traditional audience. Miyamoto further blamed a failure to introduce major innovations to excite established players or attract new ones.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: "The Wind Waker HD" was critically acclaimed; Metacritic calculated a score of 90/100 based on 70 reviews. The improved graphics of the game from the original received positive commentary. Dan Ryckert of "Game Informer" noted that the upgrade was immediately apparent, and that "the vivid colors and crashing waves of the flooded Hyrule [look] fantastic". IGN's Jose Otero stated that the game "looks great". Andrew Fitch of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" claimed that the game "enhances the already excellent "Wind Waker" visuals with HD flair".


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: The game's first week sales in Japan were 30,000 physical copies. In the week following the release of "Wind Waker HD", sales of the Wii U console increased by 685% in the UK. , it has worldwide sales of 2.36 million units.


title: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

text: Nintendo initially planned a direct sequel for the GameCube, developed by Aonuma's "Zelda" team under the working title "Wind Waker 2". However, "The Wind Waker"s underwhelming reception in North America, combined with the downturn in the Japanese video game market, convinced Aonuma that the only avenue to success would be a more realistic "Zelda" game that would appeal to the stronger North American market. He persuaded Miyamoto, who authorized development of a realistically styled game using "The Wind Waker"s engine, "". "Twilight Princess" proved a major success for the GameCube and the newly released Wii.