title: Silat

text: The "silat" tradition is mostly oral. In the absence of written records, much of its history is known through myth and archaeological evidence. It is believed that this form of martial arts developed around the developments of Bukit Siguntang Mahameru kingdom in Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia. As narrated in the Malay Annals, the beginning of the Sumatran empire, started with a story of Paduka Demang Lebar Daun and Sang Nila Utama which took place in Batang Musi River. Paduka Demang Lebar Daun was officially styled as the forefather (Mangkubumi) of the Nusantara peoples in Malay archipelago by Sang Nila Utama through their oath. From the Bukit Siguntang Kingdom it developed into three full-grown empires in Malay history. One of them is the Pagaruyung Kingdom (West Sumatra, Indonesia) under the rule of King Adityawarman around the 12th century.


title: Silat

text: In Nusantara the genesis of traditional martial arts is attributed to the need for self-defense, hunting techniques and military training. Hand-to-hand combat and weapons practice were important in training warriors for combat. Early traditional fighting styles are v believed to have been developed among various Malay tribes from the dawn of Malay civilisation. These early fighting styles epitomize the movements of animals such as the crocodile, tiger and eagle, and was deeply influenced by ancient Austronesian animism. The expanding Iron Age civilisations on Mainland Southeast Asia engaged in wars and diplomacy led to the advancement of the art of war, weaponry and martial arts skills.


title: Silat

text: Early Nusantarans and the related Chams were the only sizable Austronesians who had established themselves since the Iron Age on mainland Southeast Asia among the Austroasiatic inhabitants. Scholars such as Hall and Blust argued that the earlier Funanese were Austronesians, and by the early Christian era, a single dialect chain of Austronesian languages extended almost unbroken from the Malay peninsula to Champa. The expansion of the Khmers into the Mekong Delta would have divided an earlier language continuum into two separate dialects. The earliest weapons found in the Malay Archipelago were sharpened stone tools such as axes. Influence from Laos, Vietnam, India, and Southern China arrived during the Neolithic period. Whole communities from Southern China were transferred to Southeast Asia, bringing their weapons and weapon-making technology with them. It is probable that these communities already exercised some form of systematisation over the use of these weapons when they arrived in the 2nd and 3rd century BCE. The early Austronesian settlements that centered around present day Southern Vietnam and the Kra Isthmus region of the Malay peninsula and its peripheries, developed into strong kingdoms including Champa, Langkasuka and Kedah. The Chams were known as formidable warriors. Their skills in warfare were gained through long intermittent conflicts with neighbouring kingdoms. Southeast Asian sea-nomads and indigenous Southeastern Chinese boat-dwellers such as the Baiyue and Tanka people have been noted. Examples include long-boat culture, war fleets, tattoos, familiarity with plant poisons, and bladed weaponry. The Baiyue adopted the use of bronze from northern China and in turn introduced it to Tonkin and Vietnam, resulting in the Đông Sơn culture of the Bronze Age. From Dongson this technology spread to Java in the Indonesian Archipelago, producing steel weapons such as broadswords, spears, and knives The discovery of prototypes of bronze kris in Southern Vietnam, with hilt decorated by human figures, dating back more than 2000 years, further indicated that the Chams had developed an advanced martial arts tradition. The iconic kris was patterned after the Dongson dagger. Even centuries later, their martial prowess was held in high regard among Malays and Sumatrans, as the legends of prominent Cham warriors appeared in Malay Annals and Tambo of Minangkabau people. Tambo for example, recounts the legend of Cham warrior Harimau Campo ('tiger of Champa’). Together with Kucieng Siam, Kambiang Hutan and Anjiang Mualim, they developed the early Minangkabau "silek".


title: Silat

text: Early Nusantarans and the related Chams, were the only sizable Austronesians that had established themselves since the Iron Age on the Mainland Southeast Asia among the Austroasiatic inhabitants. Some scholars like Hall and Blust argued that even the earlier Funanese were Austronesians, and by the early centuries of Christian era, a single dialect chain of Austronesian languages would have extended almost unbroken from the Malay peninsula to Champa. The expansion of the Khmers into the region of the Mekong Delta would then have divided an earlier language continuum into two separate and smaller dialects. The earliest weapons found in the Malay Archipelago were sharpened stone tools such as axes. Influence from Laos, Vietnam, India, and Southern China arrived during the Neolithic period. Whole communities from Southern China were transferred to Southeast Asia, bringing their weapons and weapon-making technology with them. It is probable that these communities already exercised some form of systematisation over the use of these weapons when they arrived in the 2nd and 3rd century BCE. The early Austronesian settlements that centered around present day Southern Vietnam and the Kra Isthmus region of Malay peninsula and its peripheries, had developed into strong kingdoms like Champa, Langkasuka and Kedah. The Chams were particularly known as formidable warriors who were great exponents of martial arts. Their exceptional skills in warfare were gained through their long intermittent conflicts with neighbouring kingdoms. Similarities have been observed between Southeast Asian sea-nomads and indigenous Southeastern Chinese boat-dwellers such as the Baiyue and Tanka people. Examples include the long-boat culture, war fleets, tattoos, familiarity with plant poisons, and bladed weaponry. The Baiyue adopted the use of bronze from northern China and in turn introduced it to Tonkin and Vietnam, resulting in the Đông Sơn culture of the Bronze Age. From Dongson this technology spread to Java in the Indonesian Archipelago thus producing steel weapons such as broadswords, spears, and knives. The discovery of prototypes of bronze kris in Southern Vietnam, with hilt decorated by human figure, dating back to more than 2000 years ago, further indicated that the Chams had developed an advanced martial arts tradition. The iconic kris was patterned after the Dongson dagger. Even centuries later, their martial prowess were still held in high regards among people in Malay peninsula and Sumatra, as the legends of prominent Cham warriors made its way in the Malay Annals and Tambo of Minangkabau people. Tambo for example, recounts the legend of a Cham warrior who goes by the name Harimau Campo ('tiger of Champa’). Together with Kucieng Siam, Kambiang Hutan and Anjiang Mualim, they developed the early Minangkabau silek.


title: Silat

text: Since Islamization in the 1980s and 90s in Malaysia, participants have attempted to make "silat" more compliant with Muslim beliefs and practices. Many instructors justify this by creating histories to tie their style with Islam and distance themselves from traditional folklore. Some Malaysian "silat" schools go so far as refusing to teach non-Muslims, or to perform at non-Muslim weddings. This has given rise to various misconceptions that "Silat" is inherently Muslim or can only be practised by followers of the Islamic faith. In actuality, the Hindu-Buddhist and animistic roots of the art were never eradicated, and remain very evident even among Muslim practitioners. As a result of this modern trend, many traditional practices and styles have become increasingly rare. It is now illegal for Muslim practitioners in Malaysia to chant mantra, bow to idols, or attempt to acquire supernatural powers. Traditional meditation is sometimes also discouraged or altered, and the incantations spoken before training or during massage are now often replaced with prayer recitation.


title: Silat

text: An important development of martial arts of the Nusantara is also attributed to foreign influence. The infusion of foreign elements was obtained through wars and conquests and through trade and diplomacy. The growth in trade relations brought foreign influence throughout the primordial Austronesian ancient states, most importantly in cultural traits including the combative arts. The influence from Chinese and Indian martial arts can be observed from the use of weapons such as the Indian mace and the Chinese sword. During this period, formalised combat arts were believed to have been practiced in the Champa, Malay peninsula and Sumatra. From the 12th century, martial arts were further developed in Langkasuka under Srivijaya after the Chola Empire was expelled from Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. The Riau Archipelago is noted for its role in the development of Malay martial arts. Its Orang Laut people, also called Orang Selat, are stereotyped as sea pirates, but historically played major roles in the times of Srivijaya and later sultanates of Malacca, and Johor. The fighting styles developed in this area are described as a prototype of Malay martial arts and one of the progenitors of modern Malay "Silat".


title: Silat

text: The influence of the Indian subcontinent and Southern China were fundamental to the development of "Silat". By adopting the Indian faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism, Southeast Asian social structure became more organised. Images of Hindu figures such as Durga, Krishna and scenes from the Ramayana all bear testament to the Indian influence on local weapons and armour. Forms are said to have been introduced by Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, born in Central Asia or India (5th or 6th century CE), who came to Southeast Asia via the Srivijayan capital of Palembang. Many of "Silat"'s medicinal practices and weapons originated in either India or China. The slapping actions in "Silat" "jurus" (in which the practitioner slaps their own body) are reminiscent of Indian martial arts. Some form of wrestling is indeed portrayed in Indonesian temple art. The martial arts practised by the Chinese community of Southeast Asia are referred to as "kuntao".


title: Silat

text: The Book of Liang mentions a kingdom called Polingor Poli southeast of Guangdong. Thought to be located in the Malay Peninsula, the people of this kingdom are said to have customs identical with Cambodia and the same produce as Siam. Their weapons are purportedly the same as China's with the exception of the "chakram" with which locals are said to be highly skilled.


title: Silat

text: Folklore credits the promulgation of "Silat" to pendeta or Hindu-Buddhist sages, often through the study of animals and the natural world. The priests were said to combine the animal movements with meditative postures ("semadi") and mystic hand positions ("mudra"), much like the "kuji-in" of "ninjutsu". The animal-based concept was most likely adopted from Indian martial arts. Village shamans or "dukun" would often learn "Silat" as part of their craft and for defending themselves while travelling. "Bomoh" in some communities such as the Kadayan are required to complete training in "Silat" before they are initiated. "Silat" is an integral aspect of healing rituals such as "puteri". Through this connection, "Silat" is used as a method of spiritual training in addition to self-defense. Systems exist that focus exclusively on the internal rather than the physical.


title: Silat

text: Nomadic boat-dwellers in Southeast Asia and southeastern China were often misconstrued as pirates for political reasons, but Faxian and Zhao Rugua both described fierce warriors armed with an arsenal of weapons who would attack boats passing around Singapore, Sumatra, Java, and the South China Sea. Local rulers like Parameswara relied on the boat-people to maintain control of their territory. They played a key role in the region's power struggles into the colonial era. Piracy saw an increase after the arrival of European colonists, who recorded Malay pirates armed with sabres, kris and spears across the archipelago into the Gulf of Siam. The Haijin or maritime ban in Ming China spurred the migration of Chinese to Southeast Asia. Marooned Cantonese and Hokkien naval officers set up small gangs for protection along river estuaries and recruited local "Silat" practitioners as foot soldiers known as "lang" or "lanun" (Malay for pirate). Chinese pirates like Liang Daoming and Chen Zuyi became so successful that they became leaders. Whether pirates or not, Southeast Asia's boat people were crucial to the accumulation of weapons and techniques in "Silat". Through their journeys they acquired weapons from across the region, came into contact with other fighting styles, and spread "Silat" into Brunei.


title: Silat

text: Southeast Asian trade extended into Okinawa and Japan by the 15th century. The number of Japanese people travelling the region increased after the Battle of Sekigahara. By the early 17th century small Japanese communities were living and trading in Indochina. Some arrived with the official red seal ships while others were warriors and pirates from the losing side of the Sekigahara war. Although mostly confined to Siam, some Japanese traveled to Cambodia and Indonesia after the Ayutthaya Kingdom was attacked by the Burmese.


title: Silat

text: "Silat" shares many similarities with Okinawan karate as well as the throws and stances of weapon-based Japanese martial arts that date to this time. Trade with Japan ended when the country went into self-imposed isolation, but resumed during the Meiji era, when certain areas of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore became home to a small Japanese population. After the Japanese Occupation, some "Silat" masters incorporated the "katana" into their systems.


title: Silat

text: As India came under the rule of conquerors from Central Asia and the Middle East, Indian traders who frequented Southeast Asia introduced knives of Arabian origin to the western coast of Sumatra. Indian-Muslim blades brought a Moorish influence to the shape of local knives, most strongly seen in Aceh. These weapons, sometimes erroneously called "Muslim weaponry", spread into Sulawesi and West Malaysia by the 19th century. The only notable examples of such blades are the "jambia" and the "karis", the latter was a short Acehnese hook-like knife (not to be confused with the indigenous kris).


title: Silat

text: Prior to the introduction of firearms, weapons training was actually considered to be of greater value than unarmed techniques and even today many masters consider a student's training incomplete if they have not learned the use of weapons. Except for some weapon-based styles, students must generally achieve a certain degree of skill before being presented with a weapon which is traditionally made by the guru. This signifies the beginning of weapons-training. "Silat" uses the principle of applying the same techniques both armed and unarmed, though not quite to the same degree as is done in the Filipino martial arts. Unlike "eskrima", "Silat" does not necessarily emphasise armed combat and practitioners may choose to focus mainly on fighting empty-handed. Advanced students practice unarmed against armed opponents.


title: Silat

text: Among the hundreds of styles are dozens of weapons. The most commonly used are the staff, broadsword, and various types of knives. Silat today is often associated with the kris or dagger which was traditionally used mainly as a last resort when the fighter had no other weapon available or lost their main weapon in battle. As such, older styles place less importance on the weapon, particularly in Indonesia. However, its significance as a cultural symbol has raised the importance of the kris to such an extent that it has become the primary weapon of many later systems in the Malay Peninsula. Silat's traditional arsenal is largely made up of objects designed for domestic purposes such as the flute ("seruling"), rope ("tali"), sickle ("sabit") and chain ("rantai").


title: Silat

text: Certain rituals signify the initiation of a new student. This may include fasting, or drinking herbal tea. <nowiki>"Silat"</nowiki> masters traditionally never charged fees for their teaching, but money or some other gift may be offered by an aspiring student. These practices are no longer followed, especially outside Southeast Asia, but are well-preserved in Indonesia.


title: Silat

text: "Silat" practitioners begin and end routines by saluting their teacher, partner or any spectators as a show of respect. The handsign used is dependent on style and lineage. The majority of "silat" exponents use the Hindu-Buddhist namaste in which the palms are pressed together at chest level, often accompanied by a bow of the head. This represents the balance of two opposing forces represented either by the "harimau" (tiger, male aspect) and "buaya" (crocodile, female aspect) or by the "nāga" (dragon) and "garuda" (giant eagle). This concept is referred to as "jantan betina" (male-female) and is equivalent to the androgynous Indian Ardhanarishvara or the Chinese yin and yang. The head or upper body is usually bowed as a sign of humility. This was used as a greeting in ancient times and can still be seen throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Thailand. The practical purpose of the salute is to trigger the proper state of mind for training or fighting. Additionally, it serves as a technique to block attacks aimed at the face.


title: Silat

text: Some traditional Javanese schools use another handsign, similar to the handsign of the Chinese. In the context of "silat", the fist symbolises martial skill while the opposite hand is a sign of courtesy and camaraderie. This is meant to convey mutual respect and shows that the fighters are willing to learn from each other. Like namaste it recalls the idea of duality. A few systems, such as "Silat Pattani", have their own form of salutation unique to that particular system.


title: Silat

text: Every style incorporates multi-level fighting stances ("sikap pasang"), or preset postures meant to provide the foundation for stability while in motion. The horse stance () is the most essential posture, common to many Asian martial arts. Beginners once had to practice this stance for long periods, as many as four hours, but later practitioners train until they can last for at least ten minutes. Stances are taught in tandem with (lit. "step"), a set of structured steps. consist of basic footwork and kicks made to teach how to best move in a fight. The ' (cat step) and ' (warrior step) are among the more prominent examples. After achieving proficiency at , students learn footwork patterns or ("sole") from which to apply fighting techniques. Each considers the particular move as well as also the potential for change in each movement and action. Among the most common formations are , and . Altogether, the stances, , and act as a basis for forms-training.


title: Silat

text: Forms or are a series of prearranged meta-movements practised as a single set. Their main function is to pass down all of a style's techniques and combat applications in an organised manner, as well as provide physical conditioning and public demonstration. While demonstrating a form, "Silat" practitioners often use the open hand to slap parts of their own body such as the shoulder, elbow, thigh or knee. This reminds the "pesilat" that when an opponent comes close there may be an opportunity to trap their attacking limbs. Aside from solo forms, they may be performed with one or more partners. Routines pitting one fighter against several opponents are common in "Silat". Partnered forms are useful for teaching the application of techniques, particularly those attacks that are too dangerous to be used in a sparring match.


title: Silat

text: forms that have not been arranged beforehand but are created spontaneously. With a partner, is used as a way of sensitivity training similar to Chinese "chi sao". The aesthetic aspect of forms is called flower ( or ) or art () forms. They are performed in slow, graceful movements.


title: Silat

text: Sparring in "silat" may be done according to official competitive rules with protective gear, or traditionally with no protection. In either case, attacks to vital areas are prohibited. Sparring, as with "Silat" training in general, was often done in varying conditions to prepare the fighter for combat in any situation. The most common of these was training in dim light, sparring against several opponents, fighting unarmed against an armed opponent, and fighting in darkness or blindfolded. Others include fighting in a tight space (common in "Bajau" styles), on a slippery surface (as in "Minang" styles), or from a seated position (a fundamental of Sundanese styles). Experienced practitioners may fight against up to twelve opponents, a practice known as in Javanese. The defender is attacked by both armed and unarmed opponents. Weapons can be exchanged between the attackers, while the defender is allowed to steal and use the weapons against them. These matches were traditionally full-contact and highly dangerous, but generally became light-contact.


title: Silat

text: Advanced "silat" students undergo ordeals or meant to test their physical, psychological and spiritual endurance. In former times, these tests were sometimes even used as a way of assessing whether the student is willing to follow the master's instructions. Confidence tests still in use today include putting one's hands in boiling oil and rubbing it onto the body, jumping through a flaming hoop, or catching a spear which is thrown down a waterfall. Some methods are no longer practiced for practical or legal reasons, such as fighting a tiger, meditating in a cemetery, immersing oneself in well water for seven days and nights, or for female students to fight men.


title: Silat

text: While sparring may vary according to style and school, official matches follow the rules outlined by (The Pencak "Silat" Association of Indonesia). These are:


title: Silat

text: In "Silat" culture, the energetic body consists of interlocking circles called "cakra". The 's energy rotates outwards along diagonal lines. Energy that emits outwards from the centre line is defensive while offensive energy moves inwards from the sides of the body. The "Silat" practitioner can harmonise their movements with the "cakra", thereby increasing the power and effectiveness of attacks and movements. Energy could be used for healing or focused into a single point when applied to , the art of attacking an opponent's pressure points. Folklore describes legendary techniques that allow the fighter to attack from afar using energy alone without physically touching the opponent.


title: Silat

text: In Indonesia, anyone who teaches "silat" is generally addressed as "Guru" or teacher. More specifically in Malay language, instructors who are qualified to teach but haven't yet achieved full mastery are addressed as "Cikgu" or "Chegu". Masters are called "Guru" while grandmasters are called "Mahaguru" which means supreme teacher. The terms "Cikgu" and "Guru" are typically interchangeable. An elderly male master may be addressed as "Tok Guru" or "Tuk Guru" (lit. elderly "Guru"). The Javanese equivalent of this term is "Eyang Guru" which may be used for an elderly master or the teacher's master. In all countries where "silat" is practised, the honorary title of may be officially bestowed on a master by royalty or unofficially by commoners.


title: Silat

text: Music is used in to determine the rhythm of a trainee's movements. This training aspect, can be heard during the performance, it is known as . These performances are often displayed during festivities such as weddings or during a royal installation. They can be done either solo or with a partner and are accompanied by music played by a live band. Several traditional dances were influenced by "Silat", such as the "inai" in the Malay Peninsula. In the Minangkabau region, "Silat" is one of the main components in the men's folk dance called "randai", besides this there is (storytelling) and (song and flute). "Silat" is sometimes also performed during the ceremony and festival by Kangeanese people in the Kangean Islands.


title: Silat

text: The music played during performances is known as "gendang baku" in the Malay Peninsula, and among the Sunda people of West Java. The instruments vary from one region to another but the (Javanese orchestra), (traditional drum), (flute) and gong are common throughout Southeast Asia. The kendang are the main (and sometimes only) instrument in Minang silat performances of West Sumatra. The music from the northern part of the Malay Peninsula more closely resembles Thai music.


title: Silat

text: Types of "Silat" drums include the (the mother drum) and the (the child drum). The or Suling (flute), which also comes in long and short versions are seen as what gives "Silat" music its distinct sound.


title: Silat

text: Silat's appearance in film began in black-and-white Indonesian and Malay movies. Shaw Brothers and Cathay-Kris Studio produced more than 40 popular titles featuring "Silat" in Malaysia during the 1950s–1960s. Famous examples from this period include "Tiger from Tjampa" (1953), "Panglima Besi", "Seri Mersing", "Musang Berjanggut" (1959), "Hang Jebat", "Serikandi", and Malaysia's first colour movie, "Hang Tuah" (1956). While "Silat" was featured in all these films for the purpose of the plot, depiction of the art was not a priority. What was shown was essentially "silat wayang", designed for stage performances. Very little choreography was arranged beforehand and they were never promoted as either action or martial art movies. Accordingly, actors at the time usually had no prior training in "Silat", resulting in what are generally poor depictions.


title: Silat

text: Silat later became increasingly prominent in Indonesian movies during the 1970s, resulting in more professional and authentic depictions of the art in both historical and action movies. Indonesian action stars Ratno Timoer and Advent Bangun were famous in the 1980s films that depicted "Silat" such as "The Devil's Sword" and "Malaikat Bayangan". In Malaysia, "Silat" became increasingly rare on-screen during subsequent decades. After 2000, "Silat" was featured to varying degrees of importance in popular Malay movies such as "Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam" (2004), "Gong" (2006), "Orang Minyak" (2007), "KL Gangster" (2011) and "Jiwa Taiko" (2012). Other notable instances of authentic "Silat" in film include:


title: Silat

text: Period dramas that feature "Silat" have been a common staple of Indonesian television for many decades, typically supplemented by wire-work and/or CG effects. In Malaysia, this genre is said to have reached its peak during the 1990s when directors like Uwei Shaari strove to depict "Silat" in its original form by casting martial artists rather than actors. Series from that period includes "Keris Lok Tujuh", "Pendekar: Bayangan Harta" and "Keris Hitam Bersepuh Emas." These are still regarded as the country's best costume dramas before the genre began to decline in Malaysia after the early 2000s. Aside from period dramas, authentic "Silat" is often featured in other genres, such as the Indonesian series "Mawar Merah" and the made-for-TV children's movie "Borobudur". In Malaysia, various styles of "Silat" are regularly showcased in martial arts-themed documentary serials like "Mahaguru", "Gelanggang" and "Gerak Tangkas". The Discovery Channel's series "Fight Quest" showcased pencak "Silat" in Bandung, Indonesia in one of its episodes.


title: Silat

text: Silat in the literary tradition can be traced to the old "hikayat" or epics that became popular as literacy spread among Southeast Asian people, specifically from the Malay Peninsula beginning around the 8th-13th century. Stories such as "Hikayat Inderajaya" and "Hikayat Hang Tuah" from Malaysia, focus on legendary or semi-historical martial artists.


title: Silat

text: In Indonesia, this tradition has continued into modern times in the form of historical "Silat" novels or "cerita "Silat, equivalent to the Chinese "wuxia" genre. Notable authors include Bastian Tito, Kho Ping Ho and S.H. Mintardja whose popular books have been adapted into period-dramas for television such as "Wira Sableng" and "Naga Sasra Sabuk Intan". While this genre is nearly unknown in Malaysia, "Silat" does sometimes feature in Malay novels and anthologies set during the Malacca Sultanate era. Outside Asia, "Silat" was referenced in "Tom Clancy's" "Net Force" by Steve Perry, although the books give a fictionalized portrayal of the art.


title: Silat

text: The earliest instance of "Silat" in graphic novels are found in Indonesian comics of the 1960s that typically featured heroes who were expert martial artists. The titles "Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu", "Jaka Sembung", "Panji Tengkorak" and "Walet Merah" all gave rise to popular films in the 1970s and 1980s. Indonesian action star Barry Prima made a name for himself portraying the character in the 1981 film "Jaka Sembung". "Silat" is also featured in Malaysian comics, but is not known as having a large audience. Outside Southeast Asia, "Silat" has been featured in Japanese manga titles "" and "Kengan Omega".


title: Silat

text: Indonesian radio shows of the 1980s, many of them historical dramas, concerned the adventures of martial artists in Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of medieval Java and Sumatra. The most notable was "Saur Sepuh", "Tutur Tinular" and its sequel "Mahkota Mayangkara". Each programme was highly successful in their home country, and continued to spawn films and television series.


title: Silat

text: Silat was featured in the video game "" (2004) and "" (2006) as an exclusive fighting style for Baraka.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Samantha Fish (born January 30, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Kansas City, Missouri. While often cited as a blues artist, Fish's albums and live shows feature multiple genres, including rock, country, funk, bluegrass and ballads.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Samantha Fish grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and started out playing the drums, but when she was 15 she switched to guitar.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish's mother was the instructor in a local church choir and her father played guitar with friends. Initially hearing recordings of Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan, she later heard music from Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones and cites the Stones' album "Sticky Fingers" as an influential moment. Samantha and her sister were both drawn towards blues music in their teenage years.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish regularly went to the Knuckleheads Saloon to hear touring blues artists. After turning 18, she often joined in with the singers and bands who were performing there.


title: Samantha Fish

text: In 2009, Fish recorded and produced "Live Bait". The live album attracted the attention of a talent company, who recommended her to Ruf Records. Ruf Records put together a record with Fish and two other female blues artists, Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde, titled "Girls with Guitars". The three guitarists then toured on the Ruf Records 2011 Blues Caravan in the U.S. and Europe.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish continued touring with the Samantha Fish Band, featuring "Go-Go Ray" Pollard on drums and Chris Alexander on bass, playing in Europe and the United States. In 2011, Fish recorded "Runaway" with the help of her mentor Mike Zito. The album won the 2012 Blues Music Award for Best New Artist.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish appeared on Devon Allman's 2013 album "Turquoise" in a duet covering the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks' song "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around". During the summer of 2013, Fish was called up on stage to play with a skeptical Buddy Guy who was so impressed with her playing on the guitar, he declared with a beaming smile to his audience, "When this kind of shit happens, I'll play all night!"


title: Samantha Fish

text: In 2013, Fish released her second major studio album, "Black Wind Howlin"', featuring Mike Zito on guitar, Yonrico Scott on drums, Johnny Sansone on harmonica, and Paul Thorn, vocal duet on one track. The album was recorded in Dockside Studios, in Maurice, Louisiana. Mike Zito's bandmates from his group Royal Southern Brotherhood, Yonrico Scott and Charlie Wooton, were brought in to assist in the session recordings.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Also in 2013, Fish appeared on "The Healers Live at Knuckleheads Saloon", producing a CD/DVD collaboration with Jimmy Hall, Reese Wynans, Kate Moss, and Danielle and Kris Schnebelen (sister and brother, formerly of the band Trampled Under Foot). Proceeds benefit the Blue Star Connection. The Healers occasionally perform together as their schedule permits.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish's third studio album, "Wild Heart" was released on July 10, 2015. The new album is more roots rock than her earlier blues rock. Fish wrote five songs on the record. She co-wrote five other songs with Jim McCormick in Nashville, Tennessee. Luther Dickinson produced the album, as well as played various stringed instruments (guitar, bass, mandolin, lap steel) to flesh out the sound. The album was recorded in four studios, Royal Studios and Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, Mississippi, and Blade Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. Other musicians on the record are Brady Blade (drums), Lightnin' Malcolm (guitar), Shardé Thomas (drums), Dominic Davis (bass), Shontelle Norman-Beatty (background vocals), and Risse Norman (background vocals).


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish released her fourth solo album, "Chills & Fever" on March 17, 2017. The album was recorded in Detroit and was recorded with members of the band The Detroit Cobras. Bobby Harlow produced the album. "Belle of the West" followed in December 2017.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish released her sixth solo album, "Kill or Be Kind", on September 20, 2019, on her new label, Rounder Records. It was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic.


title: Samantha Fish

text: Fish released her seventh solo album, "Faster", on September 10, 2021, on Rounder Records. The album was produced by Martin Kierszenbaum, and features drummer Josh Freese and bass player Diego Navaira of The Last Bandoleros. Kansas City area rapper Tech N9ne is featured on the song "Loud".


title: Samantha Fish

text: Her older sister is Amanda Fish, a fellow American blues singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Andrew Barret Anglin (born July 27, 1984) is an American neo-Nazi and conspiracy theorist, and editor of the website "The Daily Stormer". Through this website, Anglin uses elements of Nazism combined with Internet memes originating from 4chan to promote white supremacy, fascism, and antisemitic conspiracy theories such as Holocaust denial to a young audience.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Anglin was born in 1984, and grew up near Columbus, Ohio. According to both Anglin and his childhood classmates, he was liberal as a youth. He attended the Linworth Alternative Program and the Worthington Kilbourne High School from 1999 to 2003, where he was remembered as a JNCOs-wearing dreadlocked atheist vegan who often wore a hoodie with a "fuck racism" patch. His friends in high school report that his behavior changed during his sophomore year at Linworth, where he exhibited self-harming behavior, and began promoting conspiracy theories. After high school, Anglin took classes at Columbus State Community College in 2003, and studied English at Ohio State University for one semester in 2004.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: In 2006, Anglin launched a conspiracy theory website, "Outlaw Journalism", which he claims was modeled after the works of Alex Jones and Hunter S. Thompson, whom Anglin admired.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: According to Anglin, he left the United States in 2007 and moved to Asia, which he described as an "awesome" experience where he developed "affinity for the Asian "races"". In 2008, after posting on "Outlaw Journalism" that the only way for humanity to survive was to return to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, Anglin began traveling around Southeast Asia, eventually ending up in Davao City. In 2011, he spent several weeks with a Tboli village in southern Mindanao, where he initially intended to stay permanently, selling some of his possessions to raise money for a dowry to marry two local Muslim women. In 2012, Anglin wrote that he found the locals to be "a civilized, non-aggressive and industrious people" but he eventually came to consider them too "primitive", became lonely and only wanted to associate with members of his own race, and "By the Grace of God, I found Adolf Hitler."


title: Andrew Anglin

text: In 2012, Anglin launched another website, "Adventure Quest 2012", which discussed conspiracy theories such as the existence of reptilian humanoids. He described the aim of the site as seeking to "mend the wounds produced by modern society ... and [help] the reader transcend these physical bonds and reach total ascendancy. To mend these wounds, the world must learn to embrace diversity and color". Later in 2012, he launched his first neo-Nazi website, "Total Fascism". Feeling that "Total Fascism" was not appealing to a younger demographic and had articles that were too long, Anglin launched "The Daily Stormer" on July 4, 2013, with shorter articles and a more provocative style.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: In April 2017, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Tanya Gersh, accusing Anglin of instigating an anti-Semitic harassment campaign against Gersh, a Whitefish, Montana, real estate agent. In July 2019, a judge issued a $14 million default judgment against Anglin, who is in hiding and has refused to appear in court. On November 9, 2022, a warrant was issued for Anglin's arrest for ignoring the judgment against him.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: In October 2017, Anglin was named as a defendant in a case brought by nine Charlottesville residents following the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. Anglin was named alongside Robert "Azzmador" Ray as responsible for "The Daily Stormer" website, as well as Moonbase Holdings. A default judgement was entered against Anglin who did not participate in the trial.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: In August 2017, Muslim American radio presenter Dean Obeidallah sued "The Daily Stormer" in an Ohio federal court. Anglin had published fake images which purported to show Obeidallah celebrating the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. The lawsuits cleared a longstanding hurdle in March 2018, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch declared that there was sufficient evidence of Anglin being domiciled in Ohio despite living abroad. In July, the court found in Obeidallah's favor, with neither Anglin nor his representatives present in court.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Taylor Dumpson, the first black student body president at American University, sued Anglin in May 2018 for organizing a racist and sexist trolling campaign against her. She alleges that Anglin had posted her name and picture, as well as links to her Facebook page and the Twitter account of the university's student government, and urged his readers to "troll storm" her, which resulted in many hate-filled and racist online messages directed at her. Although Dumpson and Anglin have not reached a settlement, she settled in December 2018 with one of the people who harassed her, a man from Eugene, Oregon named Evan McCarty who was a neo-Nazi musician and former theatre actor known as "Byron de la Vandal" (named after Byron De La Beckwith, the assassin of Medgar Evers) who served as a member of the fascist Vanguard America and affiliated with the Daily Stormer. McCarty was required to apologize, to renounce white supremacy, to stop trolling and doxing online, and to provide information to and cooperate with authorities in the prosecution of white supremacists. The lawsuit that was brought on her behalf was led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law which continues to use litigation as a tool to fight extremism and to slow the efforts of white supremacists.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: On August 9, 2019, a Federal judge awarded Dumpson a judgment of over $725,000, to be paid by Andrew Anglin, Brian Andrew Ade, and the shell company which owns "The Daily Stormer". The defendants did not show up to contest the lawsuit, so a default judgment was entered against them, consisting of $101,429.28 in compensatory damages, punitive damages of $500,000 and attorney's fees and costs of $124,022.10. A restraining order was also handed down, as was an injunction not to publish anything more about Dumpson. The judgement came only a day after Tanya Gersh was awarded a $14 million default judgment against Anglin.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Anglin has stated: "The goal is to ethnically cleanse White nations of non-Whites and establish an authoritarian government. Many people also believe that the Jews should be exterminated". Anglin also uses "The Daily Stormer" as a platform to promote misogynistic conspiracy theories, claiming that politically active "white women across the Western world" are pushing for liberal immigration policies "to ensure an endless supply of Black and Arab men to satisfy their depraved sexual desires". In July 2018, Anglin summarized his misogynistic views, writing: "Look, I hate women. I think they deserve to be beaten, raped and locked in cages." Anglin is also a Holocaust denier. Although he has espoused neo-Nazi views, he has attempted to rebrand his ideology as "American Nationalism". Anglin stated he agreed with the central tenets of Nazism in 2014, but had reservations over the revival of all aspects of Hitler's regime. A self-proclaimed "troll", Anglin stated that he had been introduced to Nazism on the online imageboard 4chan.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Anglin has received criticism from some other white nationalist organizations, such as the website "Counter-Currents", who deem "The Daily Stormer" lowbrow and do not like its troll-heavy approach. The Anti-Defamation League says that Anglin is controversial among white supremacists for his past relationships with Asian women, and for his misogyny, including towards white women.


title: Andrew Anglin

text: Anglin was banned from Twitter in 2013, but was reinstated weeks after the site was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Sabotage is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by David Ayer and written by Ayer and Skip Woods. A loose adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel "And Then There Were None", it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Joshua Holloway, and Mireille Enos. Schwarzenegger portrays the leader of a DEA team whose members (Worthington, Howard, Manganiello, Holloway, and Enos) find themselves being hunted down after they steal money seized during a cartel raid.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: The film was released in the United States on March 28, 2014. "Sabotage" received generally negative reviews. The critics praised Schwarzenegger's performance but criticized the "grueling violence". It grossed $22.1 million on a $35 million budget.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: John "Breacher" Wharton is the leader of the DEA's Special Operations Team (DEA SOT), which consists of James "Monster" Murray, Monster's wife Lizzy Murray, Joe "Grinder" Philips, Julius "Sugar" Edmonds, Eddie "Neck" Jordan, Tom "Pyro" Roberts, Bryce "Tripod" McNeely and "Smoke" Jennings.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: During a raid on a cartel warehouse, Smoke is killed, the team steals $10 million and hides it in the sewer while blowing up the rest to cover their tracks. The money disappears, and their superior Floyd Demel suspends them while the DEA investigates the team for the theft. After several months without any confessions or evidence of their participation, the team is reinstated.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Pyro is killed after an unidentified stranger tows his motorhome onto a railroad crossing while he is unconscious and is rammed by a train before he can escape. Atlanta Police homicide detective Caroline Brentwood and her partner Darius Jackson are assigned to the case and interrogate Pyro's teammates.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Brentwood notes Neck is deliberately avoiding interrogation, and Breacher accompanies her to Neck's house, hopeful he will cooperate. When they arrive, they find him nailed to the ceiling and disemboweled. Brentwood recognizes the execution as the "modus operandi" of the cartels, leading Breacher to assume the cartel is hunting the team over the stolen money.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Breacher and Brentwood visit Tripod, who left the DEA after being suspended, and find him dead after a shootout in which he killed an assailant, the latter being identified by Breacher as a cartel enforcer. Monster later visits Brentwood, who is suspicious of Breacher. Monster tells her that Breacher's family was kidnapped by the cartels, who videotaped their murders and later sent the tape to Breacher along with the severed body parts of his wife and son. Breacher spent months searching for his family's killers before the team convinced him to move on. Brentwood apologizes to Breacher, and they have sex.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Jackson traces the dead enforcer's cellphone to a cartel safe house, which is raided by Breacher and his team, but the enforcers are not there. They are later found dead at the bottom of a river near Tripod's house, and Detective Brentwood realizes that they were killed before Pyro and Neck, meaning someone is framing the cartel for killing their team members.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Breacher reunites the team to tell them what happened, and Lizzy lashes out and reveals she's been having an affair with Sugar. Grinder confides in Brentwood that they stole the money. Breacher and Brentwood meet with Grinder in a local restaurant and Lizzy kills Grinder using a sniper rifle. Lizzy and Sugar have been behind the murders of their teammates. Lizzy is putting together her gear to leave the country with Sugar. Monster destroys her passport to prevent her from leaving the country, and Lizzy attacks him with a knife, killing him.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Breacher and Brentwood go to Lizzy's house and find Monster's body stuffed in a refrigerator. Lizzy calls Breacher, pretending to be alone, and arranges a meeting at a parking garage. Breacher goes there with Detective Brentwood, who ducks down in the car, unseen. Lizzy and Sugar ambush Breacher, and Brentwood assists Breacher. Lizzy and Sugar drive away, pursued by Breacher and Brentwood. After a lengthy chase, Sugar and Lizzy's car crashes into a tow truck, the ramp decapitating Sugar.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Breacher and Brentwood confront Lizzy, who accuses the team of stealing the money behind her back, motivating her to seek revenge. Brentwood is puzzled, assuming Lizzy had stolen the money. Breacher tells Lizzy that he took the money. Lizzy tries to reach for her weapon and Breacher kills her. The local cops arrive and Breacher disappears.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Weeks later, Breacher is in Mexico, where he uses the stolen money to bribe a corrupt police official into helping him identify Brujo, the man who murdered his family. Breacher finds him in a Mexican bar and kills him and others loyal to him.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Wounded, Breacher sits at a table, takes a shot of whiskey, lights up one last cigar and smiles as the music builds and he awaits his fate.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: An unrated red band trailer for the film was released on February 7, 2014. The film was previously titled "Ten" and "Breacher".


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: To promote the film, Schwarzenegger and Joe Manganiello made a guest appearance on the March 24, 2014 episode of "WWE Raw", where they joined Hulk Hogan in the ring before confronting The Miz.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: While the initially released poster for the film gave a release date of April 11, it was released on March 28, 2014.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: The film, budgeted at $35 million, grossed $5.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing in seventh place. The opening was the worst for a Schwarzenegger film in over thirty years. The worldwide gross as of July 6, 2014 is $17.5 million, with $10.5 million of the total gross coming from America. The total worldwide gross was $22.1 million.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 22% based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 4.31/10. The site's critics consensus reads, ""Sabotage" boasts one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's finer post-political performances, but it's wasted in a movie driven by grueling violence that punishes seemingly without purpose." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review and wrote: "This brutal, bloody, dark and at times gruesomely funny thriller isn’t some David Fincher-esque mood piece where all the clues come together at the end. It’s more like a modern-day, Georgia version of a spaghetti Western."


title: Sabotage (2014 film)

text: Jim Vejvoda of IGN gave the film a seven out of ten rating, with the verdict: ""Sabotage" is far more effective than its action-centric trailers have suggested, with the film more a mystery-thriller that actually offers Arnold Schwarzenegger and the cool ensemble a chance to act and not just shoot guns."


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: The account of the beheading of Holofernes by Judith is given in the deuterocanonical "Book of Judith", and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of Holofernes because of his desire for her. Holofernes was an Assyrian general who was about to destroy Judith's home, the city of Bethulia. Overcome with drink, he passes out and is decapitated by Judith; his head is taken away in a basket (often depicted as being carried by an elderly female servant).


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: Artists have mainly chosen one of two possible scenes (with or without the servant): the decapitation, with Holofernes supine on the bed, or the heroine holding or carrying the head, often assisted by her maid.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: In European art, Judith is very often accompanied by her maid at her shoulder, which helps to distinguish her from Salome, who also carries her victim's head on a silver charger (plate). However, a Northern tradition developed whereby Judith had both a maid and a charger, taken by Erwin Panofsky as an example of the knowledge needed in the study of iconography. For many artists and scholars, Judith's sexualized femininity interestingly and sometimes contradictorily combined with her masculine aggression. Judith was one of the virtuous women whom Van Beverwijck mentioned in his published apology (1639) for the superiority of women to men, and a common example of the Power of Women iconographic theme in the Northern Renaissance.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: The Book of Judith was accepted by Jerome as canonical and accepted in the Vulgate and was referred to by Clement of Rome in the late first century (1 Clement 55), and thus images of Judith were as acceptable as those of other scriptural women. In early Christianity, however, images of Judith were far from sexual or violent: she was usually depicted as "a type of the praying Virgin or the church or as a figure who tramples Satan and harrows Hell," that is, in a way that betrayed no sexual ambivalence: "the figure of Judith herself remained unmoved and unreal, separated from real sexual images and thus protected."


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: "Judith and Holofernes", the famous bronze sculpture by Donatello, bears the implied allegorical subtext that was inescapable in Early Renaissance Florence, that of the courage of the commune against tyranny.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: In the late Renaissance, Judith changed considerably, a change described as a "fall from grace"—from an image of Mary she turns into a figure of Eve. Early Renaissance images of Judith tend to depict her as fully dressed and desexualized; besides Donatello's sculpture, this is the Judith seen in Sandro Botticelli's "The Return of Judith to Bethulia" (1470–1472), Andrea Mantegna's "Judith and Holofernes" (1495, with a detached head), and in the corner of Michelangelo's Sistine chapel (1508–1512). Later Renaissance artists, notably Lucas Cranach the Elder, who with his workshop painted at least eight "Judiths", showed a more sexualized Judith, a "seducer-assassin": "the very clothes that had been introduced into the iconography to stress her chastity become sexually charged as she exposes the gory head to the shocked but fascinated viewer", in the words of art critic Jonathan Jones. This transition, from a desexualized image of Virtue to a more sexual and aggressive woman, is signaled in Giorgione's "Judith" (c. 1505): "Giorgione shows the heroic instance, the triumph of victory by Judith stepping on Holofernes's severed, decaying head. But the emblem of Virtue is flawed, for the one bare leg appearing through a special slit in the dress evokes eroticism, indicates ambiguity and is thus a first allusion to Judith's future reversals from Mary to Eve, from warrior to "femme fatale"." Other Italian painters of the Renaissance who painted the theme include Botticelli, Titian, and Paolo Veronese.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: Especially in Germany an interest developed in female "worthies" and heroines, to match the traditional male sets. Subjects combining sex and violence were also popular with collectors. Like Lucretia, Judith was the subject of a disproportionate number of old master prints, sometimes shown nude. Barthel Beham engraved three compositions of the subject, and other of the "Little Masters" did several more. Jacopo de' Barberi, Girolamo Mocetto (after a design by Andrea Mantegna), and Parmigianino also made prints of the subject.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: Judith remained popular in the Baroque period, but around 1600, images of Judith began to take on a more violent character, "and Judith became a threatening character to artist and viewer." Italian painters including Caravaggio, Leonello Spada, and Bartolomeo Manfredi depicted Judith and Holofernes; and in the north, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Eglon van der Neer used the story. The influential composition by Cristofano Allori (c. 1613 onwards), which exists in several versions, copied a conceit of Caravaggio's recent "David with the Head of Goliath": Holofernes' head is a portrait of the artist, Judith is his ex-mistress, and the maid her mother. In Artemisia Gentileschi's painting "Judith Slaying Holofernes" (Naples), she demonstrates her knowledge of the Caravaggio "Judith Slaying Holofernes" of 1612; like Caravaggio, she chooses to show the actual moment of the killing. A different composition in the Pitti Palace in Florence shows a more traditional scene with the head in a basket.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: While many of the above paintings resulted from private patronage, important paintings and cycles were made also by church commission and were made to promote a new allegorical reading of the story—that Judith defeats Protestant heresy. This is the period of the Counter-Reformation, and many images (including a fresco cycle in the Lateran Palace commissioned by Pope Sixtus V and designed by Giovanni Guerra and Cesare Nebbia) "proclaim her rhetorical appropriation by the Catholic or Counter-Reformation Church against the 'heresies' of Protestantism. Judith saved her people by vanquishing an adversary she described as not just one heathen but 'all unbelievers' (Jdt 13:27); she thus stood as an ideal agent of anti-heretical propaganda."


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: When Rubens began commissioning reproductive prints of his work, the first was an engraving by Cornelius Galle the Elder, done "somewhat clumsily", of his violent "Judith Slaying Holofernes" (1606–1610). Other prints were made by such artists as Jacques Callot.


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: The allegorical and exciting nature of the Judith and Holofernes scene continues to inspire artists. In the late nineteenth century, Jean-Charles Cazin made a series of five paintings tracing the narrative and giving it a conventional, nineteenth-century ending; the final painting shows her "in her honoured old age", and "we shall see her sitting in her house spinning".


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: Two notable paintings of Judith were made by Gustav Klimt. The story was quite popular with Klimt and his contemporaries, and he painted "Judith I" in 1901, as a dreamy and sensual woman with open shirt. His "Judith II" (1909) is "less erotic and more frightening". The two "suggest 'a crisis of the male ego', fears and violent fantasies all entangled with an eroticized death, which women and sexuality aroused in at least some men around the turn of the century."


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: Modern paintings of the scene often cast Judith nude, as was signalled already by Klimt. Franz Stuck's 1928 "Judith" has "the deliverer of her people" standing naked and holding a sword besides the couch on which Holofernes, half-covered by blue sheets—where the text portrays her as god-fearing and chaste, "Franz von Stuck's Judith becomes, in dazzling nudity, the epitome of depraved seduction."


title: Judith beheading Holofernes

text: In 1997, Russian artists Vitaliy Komar and Alexander Melamed painted a "Judith on the Red Square" that "casts Stalin in the Holofernes role, conquered by a young Russian girl who contemplates his severed head with a mixture of curiosity and satisfaction". In 1999, American artist Tina Blondell rendered Judith in watercolour; her "I'll Make You Shorter by a Head" is explicitly inspired by Klimt's "Judith I", and part of a series of paintings called "Fallen Angels".


title: Kanye West production discography

text: The following list is a discography of production by Kanye West, an American rapper and record producer. It includes all of his work, as well as some of the music he produced and co-produced. The music is listed in sequential order by release date.


title: Disinfectant

text: A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilization, which is an extreme physical or chemical process that kills all types of life. Disinfectants are generally distinguished from other antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics, which destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics, which destroy microorganisms on living tissue. Disinfectants are also different from biocides—the latter are intended to destroy all forms of life, not just microorganisms.


title: Disinfectant

text: Disinfectants work by destroying the cell wall of microbes or interfering with their metabolism. It is also a form of decontamination, and can be defined as the process whereby physical or chemical methods are used to reduce the amount of pathogenic microorganisms on a surface.


title: Disinfectant

text: Disinfectants can also be used to destroy microorganisms on the skin and mucous membrane, as in the medical dictionary historically the word simply meant that it destroys microbes.


title: Disinfectant

text: Sanitizers are substances that simultaneously clean and disinfect. Disinfectants kill more germs than sanitizers. Disinfectants are frequently used in hospitals, dental surgeries, kitchens, and bathrooms to kill infectious organisms. Sanitizers are mild compared to disinfectants and are used majorly to clean things that are in human contact whereas disinfectants are concentrated and are used to clean surfaces like floors and building premises.


title: Disinfectant

text: Bacterial endospores are most resistant to disinfectants, but some fungi, viruses and bacteria also possess some resistance.


title: Disinfectant

text: In wastewater treatment, a disinfection step with chlorine, ultra-violet (UV) radiation or ozonation can be included as tertiary treatment to remove pathogens from wastewater, for example if it is to be discharged to a river or the sea where there body contact immersion recreations is practiced (Europe) or reused to irrigate golf courses (US). An alternative term used in the sanitation sector for disinfection of waste streams, sewage sludge or fecal sludge is sanitisation or sanitization.


title: Disinfectant

text: The Australian Therapeutic Goods Order No. 54 defines several grades of disinfectant as will be used below.


title: Disinfectant

text: Sterilant means a chemical agent which is used to sterilize critical medical devices or medical instruments. A sterilant kills all micro-organisms with the result that the sterility assurance level of a microbial survivor is less than 10^-6. Sterilant gases are not within this scope.


title: Disinfectant

text: Low level disinfectant means a disinfectant that rapidly kills most vegetative bacteria as well as medium-sized lipid containing viruses, when used according to labelling. It cannot be relied upon to destroy, within a practical period, bacterial endospores, mycobacteria, fungi, or all small nonlipid viruses.


title: Disinfectant

text: Intermediate level disinfectant means a disinfectant that kills all microbial pathogens except bacterial endospores, when used as recommended by the manufacturer. It is bactericidal, tuberculocidal, fungicidal (against asexual spores but not necessarily dried chlamydospores or sexual spores), and virucidal.


title: Disinfectant

text: High level disinfectant means a disinfectant that kills all microbial pathogens, except large numbers of bacterial endospores when used as recommended by its manufacturer.


title: Disinfectant

text: Hospital grade disinfectant means a disinfectant that is suitable for general purpose disinfection of building and fitting surfaces, and purposes not involving instruments or surfaces likely to come into contact with broken skin:


title: Disinfectant

text: Household/commercial grade disinfectant means a disinfectant that is suitable for general purpose disinfection of building or fitting surfaces, and for other purposes, in premises or involving procedures other than those specified for a hospital-grade disinfectant, but is not:


title: Disinfectant

text: One way to compare disinfectants is to compare how well they do against a known disinfectant and rate them accordingly. Phenol is the standard, and the corresponding rating system is called the "Phenol coefficient". The disinfectant to be tested is compared with phenol on a standard microbe (usually "Salmonella typhi" or "Staphylococcus aureus"). Disinfectants that are more effective than phenol have a coefficient > 1. Those that are less effective have a coefficient < 1.


title: Disinfectant

text: The standard European approach for disinfectant validation consists of a basic suspension test, a quantitative suspension test (with low and high levels of organic material added to act as ‘interfering substances’) and a two part simulated-use surface test.


title: Disinfectant

text: A less specific measurement of effectiveness is the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classification into either "high", "intermediate" or "low" levels of disinfection. "High-level disinfection kills all organisms, except high levels of bacterial spores" and is done with a chemical germicide marketed as a sterilant by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Intermediate-level disinfection kills mycobacteria, most viruses, and bacteria with a chemical germicide registered as a 'tuberculocide' by the Environmental Protection Agency. Low-level disinfection kills some viruses and bacteria with a chemical germicide registered as a hospital disinfectant by the EPA."


title: Disinfectant

text: An alternative assessment is to measure the Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of disinfectants against selected (and representative) microbial species, such as through the use of microbroth dilution testing. However, those methods are obtained at standard inoculum levels without considering the inoculum effect. More informative methods are nowadays in demand to determine the minimum disinfectant dose as a function of the density of the target microbial species.


title: Disinfectant

text: A perfect disinfectant would also offer complete and full microbiological sterilisation, without harming humans and useful form of life, be inexpensive, and noncorrosive. However, most disinfectants are also, by nature, potentially harmful (even toxic) to humans or animals. Most modern household disinfectants contain denatonium, an exceptionally bitter substance added to discourage ingestion, as a safety measure. Those that are used indoors should never be mixed with other cleaning products as chemical reactions can occur. The choice of disinfectant to be used depends on the particular situation. Some disinfectants have a wide spectrum (kill many different types of microorganisms), while others kill a smaller range of disease-causing organisms but are preferred for other properties (they may be non-corrosive, non-toxic, or inexpensive).


title: Disinfectant

text: There are arguments for creating or maintaining conditions that are not conducive to bacterial survival and multiplication, rather than attempting to kill them with chemicals. Bacteria can increase in number very quickly, which enables them to evolve rapidly. Should some bacteria survive a chemical attack, they give rise to new generations composed completely of bacteria that have resistance to the particular chemical used. Under a sustained chemical attack, the surviving bacteria in successive generations are increasingly resistant to the chemical used, and ultimately the chemical is rendered ineffective. For this reason, some question the wisdom of impregnating cloths, cutting boards and worktops in the home with bactericidal chemicals.


title: Disinfectant

text: Air disinfectants are typically chemical substances capable of disinfecting microorganisms suspended in the air. Disinfectants are generally assumed to be limited to use on surfaces, but that is not the case. In 1928, a study found that airborne microorganisms could be killed using mists of dilute bleach. An air disinfectant must be dispersed either as an aerosol or vapour at a sufficient concentration in the air to cause the number of viable infectious microorganisms to be significantly reduced.


title: Disinfectant

text: In the 1940s and early 1950s, further studies showed inactivation of diverse bacteria, influenza virus, and "Penicillium chrysogenum" (previously "P. notatum") mold fungus using various glycols, principally propylene glycol and triethylene glycol. In principle, these chemical substances are ideal air disinfectants because they have both high lethality to microorganisms and low mammalian toxicity.


title: Disinfectant

text: Although glycols are effective air disinfectants in controlled laboratory environments, it is more difficult to use them effectively in real-world environments because the disinfection of air is sensitive to continuous action. Continuous action in real-world environments with outside air exchanges at door, HVAC, and window interfaces, and in the presence of materials that adsorb and remove glycols from the air, poses engineering challenges that are not critical for surface disinfection. The engineering challenge associated with creating a sufficient concentration of the glycol vapours in the air have not to date been sufficiently addressed.


title: Disinfectant

text: Alcohol and alcohol plus Quaternary ammonium cation based compounds comprise a class of proven surface sanitizers and disinfectants approved by the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control for use as a hospital grade disinfectant. Alcohols are most effective when combined with distilled water to facilitate diffusion through the cell membrane; 100% alcohol typically denatures only external membrane proteins. A mixture of 70% ethanol or isopropanol diluted in water is effective against a wide spectrum of bacteria, though higher concentrations are often needed to disinfect wet surfaces. Additionally, high-concentration mixtures (such as 80% ethanol + 5% isopropanol) are required to effectively inactivate lipid-enveloped viruses (such as HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C).


title: Disinfectant

text: The efficacy of alcohol is enhanced when in solution with the wetting agent dodecanoic acid (coconut soap). The synergistic effect of 29.4% ethanol with dodecanoic acid is effective against a broad spectrum of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Further testing is being performed against Clostridium difficile (C.Diff) spores with higher concentrations of ethanol and dodecanoic acid, which proved effective with a contact time of ten minutes.


title: Disinfectant

text: Aldehydes, such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, have a wide microbicidal activity and are sporicidal and fungicidal. They are partly inactivated by organic matter and have slight residual activity.


title: Disinfectant

text: Some bacteria have developed resistance to glutaraldehyde, and it has been found that glutaraldehyde can cause asthma and other health hazards, hence ortho-phthalaldehyde is replacing glutaraldehyde.


title: Disinfectant

text: Oxidizing agents act by oxidizing the cell membrane of microorganisms, which results in a loss of structure and leads to cell lysis and death. A large number of disinfectants operate in this way. Chlorine and oxygen are strong oxidizers, so their compounds figure heavily here.


title: Disinfectant

text: Peroxycarboxylic acids and inorganic peroxo acids are strong oxidants and extremely effective disinfectants.


title: Disinfectant

text: Phenolics are active ingredients in some household disinfectants. They are also found in some mouthwashes and in disinfectant soap and handwashes. Phenols are toxic to cats and newborn humans


title: Disinfectant

text: Quaternary ammonium compounds ("quats"), such as benzalkonium chloride, are a large group of related compounds. Some concentrated formulations have been shown to be effective low-level disinfectants. Quaternary ammonia at or above 200ppm plus alcohol solutions exhibit efficacy against difficult to kill non-enveloped viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus, or polio virus. Newer synergous, low-alcohol formulations are highly effective broad-spectrum disinfectants with quick contact times (3–5 minutes) against bacteria, enveloped viruses, pathogenic fungi, and mycobacteria. Quats are biocides that also kill algae and are used as an additive in large-scale industrial water systems to minimize undesired biological growth.


title: Disinfectant

text: This group comprises aqueous solution of chlorine, hypochlorite, or hypochlorous acid. Occasionally, chlorine-releasing compounds and their salts are included in this group. Frequently, a concentration of < 1 ppm of available chlorine is sufficient to kill bacteria and viruses, spores and mycobacteria requiring higher concentrations.


title: Disinfectant

text: Chlorine has been used for applications, such as the deactivation of pathogens in drinking water, swimming pool water and wastewater, for the disinfection of household areas and for textile bleaching


title: Disinfectant

text: Most metals, especially those with high atomic weights can inhibit the growth of pathogens by disrupting their metabolism.


title: Disinfectant

text: The biguanide polymer polyaminopropyl biguanide is specifically bactericidal at very low concentrations (10 mg/L). It has a unique method of action: The polymer strands are incorporated into the bacterial cell wall, which disrupts the membrane and reduces its permeability, which has a lethal effect to bacteria. It is also known to bind to bacterial DNA, alter its transcription, and cause lethal DNA damage. It has very low toxicity to higher organisms such as human cells, which have more complex and protective membranes.


title: Disinfectant

text: Common sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO) has antifungal properties, and some antiviral and antibacterial properties, though those are too weak to be effective at a home environment.


title: Disinfectant

text: Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation is the use of high-intensity shortwave ultraviolet light for disinfecting smooth surfaces such as dental tools, but not porous materials that are opaque to the light such as wood or foam. Ultraviolet light is also used for municipal water treatment. Ultraviolet light fixtures are often present in microbiology labs, and are activated only when there are no occupants in a room (e.g., at night).


title: Disinfectant

text: The phrase "sunlight is the best disinfectant" was popularized in 1913 by United States Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and later advocates of government transparency. While sunlight's ultraviolet rays can act as a disinfectant, the Earth's ozone layer blocks the rays' most effective wavelengths. Ultraviolet light-emitting machines, such as those used to disinfect some hospital rooms, make for better disinfectants than sunlight.


title: Disinfectant

text: The most cost-effective home disinfectant is chlorine bleach (typically a >10% solution of sodium hypochlorite), which is effective against most common pathogens, including disinfectant-resistant organisms such as tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis), hepatitis B and C, fungi, and antibiotic-resistant strains of staphylococcus and enterococcus. It has disinfectant action against some parasitic organisms.


title: Disinfectant

text: The benefits of chlorine bleach include its inexpensive and fast acting nature. However it is harmful to mucous membranes and skin upon contact, has a strong odour; is not effective against "[[Giardia lamblia]]" and "[[Cryptosporidium]]"; and combination with other cleaning products such as ammonia and [[vinegar]] can generate noxious gases like [[chlorine]]. The best practice is not to add anything to household bleach except water. As with most disinfectants, the area requiring disinfection should be cleaned before the application of the chlorine bleach, as the presence of organic materials may inactivate chlorine bleach.


title: Disinfectant

text: The use of some antimicrobials such as [[triclosan]], is controversial because it may lead to [[antimicrobial resistance]]. The use of chlorine bleach and alcohol disinfectants does not cause [[antimicrobial resistance]] as it denatures the protein of the microbe upon contact.


title: Disinfectant

text: There has been a rise in the use of electrostatic disinfectants in recent years. Electrostatic disinfection is a process achieved by use of electrostatic sprayers notable examples of which include the [[Vycel]] -Vycel 4 or the [[Techtronics]] Ryobi. Electrostatic Sprayers are a new technology for disinfecting surfaces. Unlike conventional spraying bottles or devices [[electrostatic sprayers]] apply a positive ionic charge to liquid disinfectants as they pass through the nozzle of the device. The positively charged disinfectant distributed through the nozzle of an electrostatic sprayer is attracted to negatively charged surfaces, which allows for efficient coating of disinfectant solutions on to hard nonporous surfaces. There are a number of specific disinfectants designed for use with electrostatic sprayers and these are often dissolved in solution or diluted with water. Notable disinfectant sprays that are designed for use with electrostatic sprayers include Citrox Disinfectant Solution and Vital Oxide Disinfectant Solution.


title: Covaxin

text: Covaxin (codenamed as BBV152) is a whole inactivated virus-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology.


title: Covaxin

text: As of October 2021, 110.6 million people in India have received Covaxin. On 3 November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated the vaccine for emergency use. As of 31 January 2022, Covaxin has been granted emergency use approval in 13 countries


title: Covaxin

text: A vaccine is generally considered effective if the estimate is ≥50% with a >30% lower limit of the 95% confidence interval. Effectiveness is generally expected to slowly decrease over time.


title: Covaxin

text: A phase 3 clinical trial with 25,798 participants found that the vaccine is effective against asymptomatic cases, effective against symptomatic disease, effective against severe disease, and effective against the Delta variant.


title: Covaxin

text: As an inactivated vaccine, Covaxin uses a more traditional technology that is similar to the inactivated polio vaccine. Initially, a sample of SARS-CoV-2 was isolated by India's National Institute of Virology and used to grow large quantities of the virus using vero cells. From then on, the viruses are soaked in beta-propiolactone (BPL), which deactivates them by binding to their genes, while leaving other viral particles intact. The resulting inactivated viruses are then mixed with the aluminium-based adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II.


title: Covaxin

text: The vaccine candidate is produced with Bharat Biotech's in-house vero cell manufacturing platform that has the capacity to deliver about 300 million doses. The company is in the process of setting up a second plant at its Genome Valley facility in Hyderabad to make Covaxin. The firm in collaboration with Government of Odisha is establishing another facility at "Odisha Biotech Park" in Bhubaneswar to commence Covaxin production by June 2022.


title: Covaxin

text: In December 2020, Ocugen entered into a partnership with Bharat Biotech to co-develop and exclusively commercialise Covaxin in the US market; in June 2021, the partnership was extended to cover Canada. In January 2021, Precisa Medicamentos entered into an agreement with Bharat Biotech to supply Covaxin to Brazil. The contract was terminated in July 2021 after the Brazil government suspended procurement to investigate allegations of irregularities in pricing.


title: Covaxin

text: In May 2021, Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited of Haffkine Institute entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bharat Biotech and announced that the production of Covaxin by them will commence after obtaining support from the Maharashtra state government and approval from the Indian government whereas Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) has signed a commercial agreement with Bharat Biotech for producing the drug substance, a critical component of the vaccine Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation (BIBCOL) will also manufacture the vaccine.


title: Covaxin

text: On 1 April 2022, Bharat Biotech announced that it was cutting down production due to reduction in demand. On 2 April, WHO said that an inspection in March 2022, of facilities used to manufacture Covaxin, had uncovered Good manufacturing practice deficiencies.


title: Covaxin

text: In May 2020, Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR's) National Institute of Virology approved and provided the virus strains for developing a fully indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. In June 2020, the company received permission to conduct Phase I and Phase II human trials of a developmental COVID-19 vaccine codenamed BBV152, from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Government of India. A total of 12 sites were selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research for Phase I and II randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trials of vaccine candidate.


title: Covaxin

text: In January 2021, the company published Phase I trial results in "The Lancet". On 8 March 2021, Phase II results were published in "The Lancet". The study showed that Phase II trials had a higher immune response and induced T-cell response due to the difference in dosing regime from Phase I. The doses in Phase II were given at 4 weeks interval as opposed to 2 weeks in Phase I. Neutralization response of the vaccine were found significantly higher in Phase II.


title: Covaxin

text: In November 2020, Covaxin received the approval to conduct Phase III human trials after completion of Phase I and II. A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study among volunteers of age group 18 and above, it started on 25 November and involved around 26,000 volunteers from across 22 sites in India. Refusal rate for Phase III trials was much higher than that for Phase I and Phase II. As a result, only 13,000 volunteers had been recruited by 22 December with the number increasing to 23,000 by 5 January.


title: Covaxin

text: Multiple ethical breaches have been reported at one of their trial sites in Bhopal, potentially hampering the quality of overall data.


title: Covaxin

text: In March 2022, Ocugen registered a Phase 2/3 trial for 400 people in the US to compare the immune responses to those in people in the Indian phase 3 trial, as well as safety and tolerability. The trial also aims to assess the vaccine as a booster after other Covid vaccines used in the US. Ocugen paused Covaxin's bridging trial in April 2022 citing WHO inspection results.


title: Covaxin

text: In June 2021, Bharat Biotech announced the start of phase IV trials to evaluate the vaccine's real-world effectiveness. A study of effectiveness and hesitancy study in Healthcare Workers of Max Group of Hospitals at New Delhi from Covaxin and Covishied is under trials.


title: Covaxin

text: In May 2021, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved clinical trials in the age group of 2 to 18 years. The trials are conducted at AIIMS Delhi and Patna. As many as 54 children had registered at the AIIMS Patna. In total 525 participants are enrolled in the study as per clinical trial data.


title: Covaxin

text: In December 2020, the Alpha variant or lineage B.1.1.7, was identified in the UK. An "in vitro" study on this variant was carried out and preliminary results show Covaxin to be effective in neutralizing this strain.


title: Covaxin

text: In April 2021, the Indian Council of Medical Research reported that the vaccine has shown promising results in neutralizing lineage B.1.617.


title: Covaxin

text: In May 2021, a joint investigation by the scientists of National Institute of Virology (NIV) India, found the vaccine effective in neutralizing the Zeta variant or lineage P.2 (previously known as B.1.1.28).


title: Covaxin

text: In June 2021, a group of researchers at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) India, collected sera from recovered patients and people who had received the Covaxin. They found the vaccine to be effective in neutralizing the Delta (B.1.617.2) and Beta (B.1.351) variants. Later, the US National Institute of Health also approved the findings where the adjuvant used was developed jointly with funding from NIH.


title: Covaxin

text: On 6 December 2020, Bharat Biotech applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), seeking emergency use authorization. It was the third firm after Serum Institute of India and Pfizer to apply under such provision.


title: Covaxin

text: On 2 January 2021, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) recommended permission, which was granted the next day. Covaxin was to be used in a "clinical trial mode" i.e. the public vaccination drive was to be an open-label, single-arm clinical trial in itself. This emergency approval, granted without considering Phase III trial data concerning efficacy and safety, drew widespread criticism. On 12 October 2021, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin got approved for usage on children between 2 and 18 years of age.


title: Covaxin

text: The vaccine was also approved for emergency use in Iran and Zimbabwe. Nepal granted for Covaxin on 19 March 2021. On 7 April, Mexico gave emergency authorization for Covaxin. On 19 April 2021, Philippines granted EUA to Covaxin. Additionally, Covaxin was granted EUA in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Guyana, Venezuela and Botswana.


title: Covaxin

text: On 31 March, the Brazilian health regulator Anvisa rejected Bharat Biotech's application for supplying Covaxin in the country due to non-compliance with manufacturing norms. Bharat Biotech stated that they would re-apply after meeting the requirements. On 4 June, Anvisa approved exceptional imports of Covaxin, imposing conditions that restrict it mainly to healthy adults and limiting it to just 1% of the country's population to manage the risks through control and supervision of side effects. Anvisa cited as main concerns the incomplete phase III study, a short 45-day follow-up, which should be 60 days to meet the international consensus, and a novel imidazoquinoline adjuvant that may increase the chance of developing an autoimmune disease. On 30 June, Brazilian regulators suspended the deal and an investigation was opened into it by federal prosecutors to probe accusations of irregularity. Anvisa cancelled an ongoing clinical trial of the vaccine on 26 July and suspended the temporary authorization and the import and distribution permit on 27 July.


title: Covaxin

text: In June 2021, Argentina agreed to buy 10 million doses of Covaxin and administer them to its citizens.


title: Covaxin

text: On 3 November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) validated the vaccine for emergency use. A subsequent inspection of manufacturing facilities led WHO to suspend procurement of Covaxin through UN agencies in April 2022.


title: THX

text: THX Ltd. is an American company founded on May 25, 1983 by George Lucas and headquartered in San Francisco, California. It develops the "THX" high fidelity audio/visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, car audio systems, and video games. THX Ltd. is a subsidiary of Razer Inc.


title: THX

text: The current THX was created on June 12, 2002, when it spun-off from Lucasfilm Ltd. THX was developed by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas's company, Lucasfilm, in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third "Star Wars" film, "Return of the Jedi", would be accurately reproduced in the best venues. THX was named after Holman, with the "X" standing for "crossover" or "experiment" as well as in homage to Lucas's first film, "THX 1138". The distinctive glissando up from a rumbling low pitch used in the THX trailers, created by Holman's coworker James A. Moorer, is known as the "Deep Note".


title: THX

text: The THX system is a quality assurance system, not a recording technology. All sound recording formats, whether digital (Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS) or analog (Dolby Stereo, Ultra Stereo), can be reproduced in a THX system. THX-certified theaters provide a high-quality, predictable playback environment to ensure that any film soundtrack mixed in THX will sound as near as possible to the intentions of the mixing engineer. THX also provides certified theaters with a special crossover circuit whose use is part of the standard. Certification of an auditorium entails specific acoustic and other technical requirements; architectural requirements include a floating floor, baffled and acoustically treated walls, non-parallel walls (to reduce standing waves), a perforated screen (to allow center channel continuity), and NC30 rating for background noise ("ensures noise from air conditioning units and projection equipment does not mask the subtle effects in a movie's soundtrack").


title: THX

text: In 2002, THX was owned by sound card manufacturer Creative Technology Limited, which held a 60% share of the company. The company has had a long history with Creative innovation and special effects technology, which was responsible for the creation of the first THX-certified audio card for computers, the Sound Blaster Audigy 2.


title: THX

text: In 2016, THX was acquired by the videogame hardware company Razer Inc., with Razer Inc owning all of THX and its intellectual property.


title: THX

text: In 1982, George Lucas and his company Lucasfilm were gearing up to release "Return of the Jedi", the third film in the Star Wars Trilogy. A new building had been constructed in San Rafael, California, where Industrial Light & Magic and much of Lucasfilm occupied a series of work bays and office complexes along Kerner Boulevard. Known as the C Building, the structure boasted a shooting stage, editing facilities, rooms for computer servers, and a large theater designed as a state-of-the-art sound mixing room. That same year, Lucas and his team were working on "Return of the Jedi" when a major situation began to arise. They brought their film to test in a commercial theater to find out that much of the audio detail and quality they mixed for countless hours in the studio was simply missing when played back in the cinema. Lucas's team was unable to hear the classic Princess Leia theme, as well as the famous "Star Wars" soundtrack and sound effects. And if that weren't bad enough, the background noise in the theater had become much worse, muffling most of the film's sound while playing through the theater's commercial sound system. During this time, many movie theaters all over the world had poor room acoustics with mono surround sound. The vision sounded one way in the studio and differently in the theater. To fix the problem, Lucas would establish a quality standard for commercial theaters that would utilize the best technology to consistently translate filmmakers' work to the big screen. Tomlinson Holman, a skilled audio engineer and scientist largely responsible for the design of the theater became an employee of Lucasfilm two years earlier in 1980. In the process of enhancing the setup for the new Sprocket Systems theater, Holman and Lucas invented a complex system that arranged speakers to best fit the architectural space within the theater. Using an intricate crossover network that integrated equipment with the room's unique acoustics, it became perhaps the best quality system anyone could remember hearing. Sprocket Systems mixed the "Return of the Jedi" sound in the room, the first Lucasfilm production mixed in Northern California. Visiting filmmakers and studio executives were astounded at what they heard. Jim Kessler, who hired Holman, thought of calling the system "Tomlinson Holman's Crossover", or, as originally abbreviated, "XVR". He then changed the "VR" and turned it into "TH", but he realized that was the name for George Lucas' first film, THX 1138, and found that would be a very appropriate name. They eventually changed the "X"'s meaning to "experiment". Four movie theaters in the United States would fully install their own THX sound system, becoming the first THX certified theaters. To introduce the new system, James A. Moorer created an ear-catching sound called the Deep Note. THX was dedicated on May 20, 1983, and the first trailer and Deep Note premiered on time with the release of "Return of the Jedi" in theaters five days later. It was billed as the first advance in the motion picture loudspeaker systems since 1948.


title: THX

text: In 1990, Lucasfilm unveiled the Home THX Audio System at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. That year, a demo LaserDisc dubbed "Wow!" was unveiled. It featured various clips from "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones" and "Willow". Three years later in 1993, "The Abyss" was released on LaserDisc, making it the first time THX was used on that device. In 1995, the Star Wars Trilogy was released on VHS and the entire trilogy would now be THX certified. This would be the first THX VHS release. Two years after that in 1997, THX began to use the audio on the newly released DVD device. "Twister" became the first DVD release to be digitally mastered by THX for superior sound and picture quality.


title: THX

text: In early 2002, it was announced that Lincoln would become the first auto company to offer THX-certified premium car audio systems. A concept sound system for the Lincoln Blackwood would showcase the potential for in-car multi-channel surround sound, which could be seen and heard at the THX booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The license would ensure that high-performance audio systems in Lincoln vehicles met the exacting sound quality and performance standards of its new THX Ultra Premium Car Audio program, beginning with the 2003 Lincoln LS, which was introduced later that year.


title: THX

text: THX separated from Lucasfilm and became an independent company in June 2002. The company would continue to be based in Marin County, California, with offices in Burbank and plan for international expansion. It would expand into gaming and car audio systems. On the professional front, THX planned to continue the expansion of its theatrical certification programs as it became more involved in digital cinema.


title: THX

text: On September 30, 2003, THX announced that they would begin branding seals of approval to the audio produced for video games. Electronic Arts would be the first company to achieve the game certification. This move helped improve the game sound, measuring the credibility of games at a time when the industry saw itself as being important to the entertainment landscape. Five games by Electronic Arts, including "", "" and "" would carry logos on their box and pre-game trailers upon their release. In 2020, THX Certified Game Mode was introduced. This mode enhanced contrast and color while simultaneously reducing input lag. It also delivered fast response time and the most optimal viewing experience, allowing games to be experienced the way they were intended by the creators with richer vibrant colors and better contrast in crisp 4K HDR resolution. When customers selected the THX Certified Game Mode in their TV, they would know that the performance of every setting had been carefully calibrated and optimized to deliver impactful visual performance to reveal vivid detail in a game while keeping the fast responsiveness that serious gamers demand. Furthermore, THX Certified Game Mode even featured judder and smear reduction, meaning that the picture stayed crisp and a quick rise time between dark-to-light transitions. On August 3, TCL Technology revealed the first television to include THX Certified Game Mode, a 6-Series TCL Roku TV.


title: THX

text: In 2014, THX began to certify Blu-ray discs; the first THX-certified Blu-ray was for the film "The Swan Princess".


title: THX

text: A 3D product certification called THX 3D Display premiered in 2010. The first 3D television to feature this technology was an LG Infinia PX950 Plasma HDTV series. To earn the new THX 3D Display Certification, the PX950 passed more than 400 laboratory tests evaluating left and right eye images for color accuracy, cross-talk, viewing angles, and video processing performance. In addition to the THX 3D Display Certification, the PX950 had to pass THX certification for picture quality in 2D, which must be achieved before passing THX 3D certification. Viewers could select THX 2D or 3D cinema modes for 2D or 3D movie experiences from broadcast sources and Blu-ray discs. Four new THX-certified 3D JVC projectors were unveiled during this time. These were the Reference Series DLA-RS60 and DLA-RS50, marketed by JVC's Professional Products Company, and the Precision Series DLA-X9 and DLA-X7.


title: THX

text: In early 2013, THX unveiled a new app called THX Tune-Up in time for Super Bowl, available on App Store and Google Play. It was billed as the company's first mobile app.


title: THX

text: On March 14, 2013, THX filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc., alleging patent infringement, Bloomberg L.P. prior to a federal court in Northern California.


title: THX

text: THX expanded to China in 2014 with new offices in Beijing and a partnership with China Film Group Corporation to redefine the cinema experience. The first THX Certified China Giant Screen (CGS) auditoriums opened Shanghai in September of that year.


title: THX

text: In December 2014, THX teamed up with Warren Theatres, opening a large theater complex opened in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma on December 23. Each of the 18 auditoriums in this theater was THX certified and two new Grand Infinity Auditoriums were introduced. They were designed by Bill Warren to revolutionize the large format movie-going experience. These auditoriums featured THX Certification, patented deep curved screens, 64-channel Dolby Atmos sound and the first and only 4K laser projector in the United States.


title: THX

text: THX introduced Spatial Audio in 2018, a new positional audio solution that was designed to create an immersive 360-degree sound experience through headphones and speakers. The technology would be used on the Kraken gaming headset, which delivered simulated 7.1 surround sound. These headphones were included with a Spatial Audio app. This would be later used on Windows 10 devices.


title: THX

text: On May 2, 2018, it was announced that over 200 Cinemark XD locations in the United States and Latin America would feature a THX sound system. These auditoriums featured enormous wall-to-wall screens, crisp, clear digital projection with 2D and 3D capabilities, immersive, surround sound audio systems that enabled customers to hear the movies as the filmmakers intended, premium seats with Luxury Lounger electric recliners, and THX Certification. Both companies first announced the partnership a year prior in 2017. The first THX Ultimate Cinema debuted at Regency Westwood Village in Los Angeles in 2019. This theater provided exhibitors with a branded and differentiated PLF offering that included projection technology from Cinionic, as well as an immersive audio system, acoustics, and auditorium specifications that met THX certification standards.


title: THX

text: In September 2020, Walmart stores began to sell Gateway laptops and tablets, which were tuned by THX, ensuring brighter contrast with more rich vibrant screen colors. They combined style, performance, and value in a wide range of products for consumers, students, and creators. The laptops featured THX Spatial Audio that delivered an authentic 7.1 surround experience through built-in speakers and attached headphones.