title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Naadirah goes missing and Leo is unable to contact her; but then he begins to receive a series of text messages on his phone, giving clues as to her whereabouts. Leo asks Luba for help, but Luba (who is jealous of Naadirah’s affection for Leo) refuses.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Leo remembers that Naadirah wrote an address in his notepad and tore out the page. He uses charcoal to read the imprint of the address on the next page of the notebook.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: The address leads Leo to the apartment of a man called Oswald. Leo sees a photo of Naadirah at the apartment and, when he expresses interest, Oswald assumes Leo works for Maksim's underling, Nicky Simsek, who is skimming money from Maksim's prostitutes. Leo meets with Simsek, who is babysitting Josie, at a diner. Leo befriends Josie, who is sketching, by drawing a picture for her. Then - watched by Maksim’s henchmen - he leaves Simsek money from Oswald and an incriminating note.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: After tracking down Naadirah's address, Leo discovers Luba living there instead. Luba admits that he and Naadirah have been working as prostitutes to earn the money she so desperately needs. Leo obtains the address of Naadirah's mother and visits her. There, he learns that Naadirah is Josie's mother, and realises Bill is responsible for Naadirah's disappearance.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Having discovered that Simsek has been double-crossing him, Maksim orders him tortured by Bill and Duck. Bill later discovers a picture of a naked child on Duck's computer, which he took using a hidden camera in his consulting room. Bill becomes violent and threatens to break Duck's arms if he ever goes near another child, but before the situation can escalate, Bill receives a call from Maksim advising that he has the forged documents ready. Bill is elated, and takes Duck out on the town in celebration. During the evening Duck casually reveals that he is the author of the anonymous texts to Leo, which he had sent to “mess with him”.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: As they leave a casino, a security guard stops them for a casual theft, and an enraged Bill pulls out a huge knife and threatens to kill the guard. When Duck intervenes, Bill strikes him. Upset by this, Duck texts Bill's destination (Maksim’s club) to Leo. Leo goes to the club, taking a support beam from the bed he made, and uses it to beat up Maksim and his henchmen; he then takes Bill's forged documents.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: At Bill's house, Leo finds a badly wounded Simsek strapped to a gurney in the basement. He releases Simsek, who tries to escape but is killed when Bill appears. Bill reveals Naadirah’s asphyxiated body to Leo; he killed her because she was trying to get custody of Josie. The two men fight and Leo stabs Bill through the throat with his own knife. Then he carries Naadirah’s body out into the garden, and sits by a tree, cradling her.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Duck then turns up, but refuses to take Bill to a hospital. Instead, he turns the surveillance camera, which shows Josie's room, towards Bill's face, so that the dying man can see Duck carry away his daughter.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Duck finds Leo in the garden and knocks him out. Back at Duck’s clinic, he implants an electrolarynx in Leo’s throat, so that he can hear Leo “apologise for killing Bill”. When Leo refuses, Duck drives him and Josie to the bridge shown in the one photo Leo has of Naadirah. Duck says he took the photo himself, when he, Bill and Naadirah visited the spot together in happier times. Duck threatens to throw Leo off the bridge if he doesn’t apologise, but Leo takes a deep breath and, gripping Duck tightly, launches them both into the water, holding Duck down until he drowns. When Leo surfaces he sees Josie near the edge, and - thanks to Duck’s implant - is able to shout a warning to her. When Leo is finally back on the bridge, he tells Josie he will take her to her maternal grandmother.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: A final scene shows Leo sitting with Josie in a restaurant, both drawing pictures. He notices that she wears a bracelet of wooden beads that he carved for her mother, and produces another bead, which he gives her.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: The film was in development hell for many years, but Jones always said he wished to direct it and has described it as a "spiritual sequel" to "Moon", heavily inspired by the Ridley Scott film "Blade Runner" (1982). During the film's development, Jones had expressed his desire for Sam Rockwell to reprise his role from "Moon" in a cameo appearance that was to act as an epilogue for the character, and that the film would be the second instalment in a trilogy consisting of "Moon", "Mute" and yet to be announced third film. In October 2016, Justin Theroux officially joined the cast, joining Skarsgård, Rudd, Noel Clarke and Florence Kasumba.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Filming began on September 28, 2016. The film was shot on site in Berlin by cinematographer Gary Shaw, who worked with Jones on "Moon".


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Clint Mansell composed the film's score. In a series of Instagram posts titled Mute & Me, he cited the culture of 20th century Berlin as a major influence, claiming that "Berlin has been, and continues to be, a cultural hot bed of our times". Mansell drew from multiple forms of Berlin culture, including "poets and artists, musicians and philosophers, dreamers and drunks, lovers and the lost and lonely, the wild, the beautiful, and the damned". During background research for the film, Mansell claimed to have drawn inspiration from works of German expressionism such as "Metropolis", the crime drama "M", as well as works of classic and contemporary film noir like "In A Lonely Place", "Cape Fear", "Chinatown", "Brick", and "Blood Simple".


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: Mansell also looked at the works of New German Cinema filmmakers like Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Wim Wenders. He points to Fassbinder's "World on a Wire" as a specific sci-fi influence from that era. He also looked at the krautrock group Popul Vuh and their collaborations with Herzog on "Aguirre, Wrath of God", and "Nosferatu the Vampyre". Mansell cited Jones's father David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy of albums as being a major influence in terms of representing Berlin culture, along with other Brian Eno-produced albums like "Ultravox!".


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: The film was heavily promoted and discussed by Jones on Twitter with production stills and concept art. On 6 January 2017 three stills from the film were released, showing characters Leo, Cactus Bill, and Duck with the backdrop of a futuristic Berlin.


title: Mute (2018 film)

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Visually polished but narratively derivative and overall muddled, "Mute" is a would-be sci-fi epic whose title serves as an unfortunate guide to how it might be best enjoyed." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film received a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."


title: Ellen G. White

text: Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she was instrumental within a small group of early Adventists who formed what became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. White is considered a leading figure in American vegetarian history. "Smithsonian" named her among the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time".


title: Ellen G. White

text: White claimed to have received over 2,000 visions and dreams from God in public and private meetings throughout her life, which were witnessed by Adventist pioneers and the general public. She verbally described and published for public consumption the content of each vision. The Adventist pioneers viewed these experiences as the Biblical gift of prophecy as outlined in Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 19:10, which describe the testimony of Jesus as the "spirit of prophecy." Her "Conflict of the Ages" series of writings endeavor to showcase the hand of God in Biblical history and in church history. This cosmic conflict, referred to by Seventh-day Adventist theologians as the "Great Controversy theme", became foundational to the development of Seventh-day Adventist theology. Her book on successful Christian living, "Steps to Christ", has been published in more than 140 languages. The book "Child Guidance", a compilation of her writings about child care, training and education, has been used as the foundation for the Seventh-day Adventist school system.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White was considered a controversial figure by her critics, and much of the controversy centered on her reports of visionary experiences and on the use of other sources in her writings. Historian Randall Balmer has described White as "one of the more important and colorful figures in the history of American religion". Walter Martin described her as "one of the most fascinating and controversial personages ever to appear upon the horizon of religious history". Arthur L. White, her grandson and biographer, writes that Ellen G. White is the most translated female non-fiction author in the history of literature, as well as the most translated American non-fiction author of either gender. Her writings covered a broad range of subjects, including religion, social relationships, prophecy, publishing, nutrition, creationism, agriculture, theology, evangelism, Christian lifestyle, education, and health. She advocated vegetarianism. She promoted and has been instrumental in the establishment of schools and medical centers all over the world, with the most renowned being Andrews University in Michigan and the Loma Linda University and Medical Center in California.


title: Ellen G. White

text: During her lifetime she wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books. more than 200 White titles are available in English, including compilations from her 100,000 pages of manuscript published by the Ellen G. White Estate, which are accessible at the Adventist Book Center. Her most notable books are "Steps to Christ", "The Desire of Ages" and "The Great Controversy".


title: Ellen G. White

text: Ellen and her twin sister Elizabeth were born November 26, 1827, to Robert and Eunice Harmon at a home on State Route 114 in Gorham, Maine. She was the seventh of eight children. Robert was a farmer who also made hats using mercuric nitrate.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Charles E. Dudley Sr., in his book "The Genealogy of Ellen Gould Harmon White: The Prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Story of the Growth and Development of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination As It Relates to African-Americans" claims that Ellen White had an African-American ancestry. In March 2000, the Ellen G. White Estate commissioned Roger D. Joslyn, a professional genealogist, to research Ellen G. White's ancestry. Joslyn concluded that she was of Anglo-Saxon origin.


title: Ellen G. White

text: At the age of nine, White was hit in the face with a stone. This occurred while she was living in Portland, Maine, and probably attending the Brackett Street School. This, she said, started her conversion: "This misfortune, which for a time seemed so bitter and was so hard to bear, has proved to be a blessing in disguise. The cruel blow which blighted the joys of earth, was the means of turning my eyes to heaven. I might never had known Jesus Christ, had not the sorrow that clouded my early years led me to seek comfort in him". A few years after her injury, Ellen, with her parents, attended a Methodist camp meeting at Buxton, Maine; and there, at the age of 12, a breakthrough occurred in which she had a conversion experience and felt at peace.


title: Ellen G. White

text: In 1840, at age 12, her family became involved with the Millerite movement. As she attended William Miller's lectures, she felt guilty for her sins and was filled with terror about being eternally lost. She describes herself as spending nights in tears and prayer and being in this condition for several months. On June 26, 1842, she was baptized by John Hobart in Casco Bay in Portland, Maine, and eagerly awaited Jesus to come again. In her later years, she referred to this as the happiest time of her life. Her family's involvement with Millerism caused them to be disfellowshipped by the local Methodist church.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Sometime in 1845 Ellen Harmon came in contact with her future husband James Springer White, a Millerite who became convinced that her visions were genuine. A year later James proposed and they were married by a justice of the peace in Portland, Maine, on August 30, 1846. James later wrote:


title: Ellen G. White

text: We were married August 30, 1846, and from that hour to the present she has been my crown of rejoicing ... It has been in the good providence of God that both of us had enjoyed a deep experience in the Advent movement ... This experience was now needed as we should join our forces and, united, labor extensively from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ...


title: Ellen G. White

text: The Whites had four sons: Henry Nichols, James Edson (known as Edson), William Clarence (known as Willie or W. C.), and John Herbert. Only Edson and William lived to adulthood. John Herbert died of erysipelas at the age of two months, and Henry died of pneumonia at the age of 16 [White Estate Biography] in 1863.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White spent the final years of her life in Elmshaven, her home in Saint Helena, California after the death of her husband James White in 1881. During her final years she traveled less frequently as she concentrated upon writing her last works for the church. She died on July 16, 1915, at her home in Elmshaven, which is now an Adventist Historical Site. After three funerals, she was buried with her husband James White in Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Michigan.


title: Ellen G. White

text: From 1844 to 1863 White allegedly experienced between 100 and 200 visions, typically in public places and meeting halls. She experienced her first vision soon after the Millerite Great Disappointment of 1844. She said she had one that led to the writing of "The Great Controversy" at an Ohio funeral service held on a Sunday afternoon in March 1858, in the Lovett's Grove (now Bowling Green, Ohio) public school. This was an alleged vision of the ages-long conflict between Christ and his angels and Satan and his angels.


title: Ellen G. White

text: J. N. Loughborough, who had seen White in vision 50 times since 1852, and her husband, James White, listed several physical characteristics that marked the visions:


title: Ellen G. White

text: Martha Amadon added: "There was never an excitement among those present during a vision; nothing caused fear. It was a solemn, quiet scene."


title: Ellen G. White

text: In December 1844, White experienced her first vision during a prayer meeting at the home of Mrs. Haines at 60 Ocean Street in South Portland, Maine, which later became the Griffin Club. The building was torn down in 2018.


title: Ellen G. White

text: At this time I visited one of our Advent sisters, and in the morning we bowed around the family altar. It was not an exciting occasion, and there were but five of us present, all females. While praying, the power of God came upon me as I never had felt it before, and I was wrapt up in a vision of God's glory, and seemed to be rising higher and higher from the earth and was shown something of the travels of the Advent people to the Holy City ...


title: Ellen G. White

text: In this vision the "Advent people" were traveling a high and dangerous path towards the city of New Jerusalem [heaven]. Their path was lit from behind by "a bright (light) [...] which an angel told me was the midnight cry." Some of the travelers grew weary and were encouraged by Jesus; others denied the light, the light behind them went out, and they fell "off the path into the dark and wicked world below." The vision continued with a portrayal of Christ's second coming, following which the Advent people entered the New Jerusalem; and ended with her returning to earth feeling lonely, desolate and longing for that "better world."


title: Ellen G. White

text: As Godfrey T. Anderson said, "In effect, the vision assured the Advent believers of eventual triumph despite the immediate despair into which they had plunged."


title: Ellen G. White

text: In February 1845, White allegedly experienced her second vision in Exeter, Maine known as the "Bridegroom" vision. Together with the third vision about the new earth, the visions "gave continued meaning to the October 1844 experience and supported the developing sanctuary rationale. Additionally they played an important role in countering the spiritualizing views of many fanatical Adventists by portraying the Father and Jesus as literal beings and heaven as a physical place."


title: Ellen G. White

text: On June 6, 1863 in Otsego, Michigan she experienced a vision about health and disease. The vision showed her that vegetarian food, as was described in Genesis 1:29, was the proper food for humankind. However, White enjoyed eating meat and had a hard time with the message because of her extensive travels during the 19th century and the lack of vegetarian food. Vegetarianism was popular in Portland, Maine during her childhood, but she enjoyed meat. She became committed herself to vegetarianism in January 1894 when she was at the Brighton camp meeting near Melbourne, Australia.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Fearing people would not accept her testimony, White did not initially share her visions with the wider Millerite community. In a meeting at her parents' home when she received what she regarded as confirmation of her ministry:


title: Ellen G. White

text: While praying, the thick darkness that had enveloped me was scattered, a bright light, like a ball of fire, came towards me, and as it fell upon me, my strength was taken away. I seemed to be in the presence of Jesus and the angels. Again it was repeated, 'Make known to others what I have revealed to you.'


title: Ellen G. White

text: Soon White was giving her testimony in public meetings – some of which she arranged herself – and in her regular Methodist class meetings in private homes.


title: Ellen G. White

text: I arranged meetings with my young friends, some of whom were considerably older than myself, and a few were married persons. A number of them were vain and thoughtless; my experience sounded to them like an idle tale, and they did not heed my entreaties. But I determined that my efforts should never cease till these dear souls, for whom I had so great an interest, yielded to God. Several entire nights were spent by me in earnest prayer for those whom I had sought out and brought together for the purpose of laboring and praying with them.


title: Ellen G. White

text: News of her visions spread and White was soon traveling and speaking to groups of Millerite followers in Maine and the surrounding area. Her visions were not publicized further afield until January 24, 1846, when her account of the first vision: "Letter From Sister Harmon" was published in the "Day Star", a Millerite paper published in Cincinnati, Ohio by Enoch Jacobs. White had written to Jacobs to encourage him and although she stated the letter was not written for publication, Jacobs printed it anyway. Through the next few years it was republished in various forms and is included as part of her first book, "Christian Experience and Views", published in 1851.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Two Millerites claimed to have had visions prior to White – William Ellis Foy (1818–1893), and Hazen Foss (1818?–1893), White's brother-in-law. Adventists believe the prophetic gift offered to these two men was passed on to White when they rejected it.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White described the vision experience as involving a bright light which would surround her and she felt herself in the presence of Jesus or angels who would show her events (historical and future) and places (on earth, in heaven, or other planets).


title: Ellen G. White

text: The transcriptions of White's visions generally contain theology, prophecy, or personal counsels to individuals or to Adventist leaders. One of the best examples of her personal counsels is found in a 9-volume series of books entitled "Testimonies for the Church", that contains edited testimonies published for the general edification of the church. The spoken and written versions of her visions played a significant part in establishing and shaping the organizational structure of the emerging Adventist Church. Her visions and writings continue to be used by church leaders in developing the church's policies and for devotional reading.


title: Ellen G. White

text: On March 14, 1858, at Lovett's Grove, near Bowling Green, Ohio, White received a vision while attending a funeral service. On that day James White wrote that "God manifested His power in a wonderful manner" adding that "several had decided to keep the Lord's Sabbath and go with the people of God." In writing about the vision, she stated that she received practical instruction for church members, and more significantly, a cosmic sweep of the conflict "between Christ and His angels, and Satan and his angels." Ellen White would expand upon this great controversy theme which would eventually culminate in the "Conflict of the Ages" series.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White was seen as a powerful and sought after preacher. While she has been perceived as having a strict and serious personality, perhaps due to her lifestyle standards, numerous sources describe her as a friendly person.


title: Ellen G. White

text: In her first essay she stated that working with youthful minds was the most delicate of tasks. The manner of instruction should be varied. This would make it possible for the "high and noble powers of the mind" to have a chance to develop. To be qualified to educate the youth (she wrote), parents and teachers must have self-control, gentleness and love.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White's idea of creating a Christian educational system and its importance in society is detailed in her writings "Christian Education" (1893, 1894) and "Education" (1903).


title: Ellen G. White

text: White expounded greatly on the subjects of health, healthy eating and a vegetarian diet. In her book "Counsels on Diet & Foods", she gives advice on the right foods and on moderation. She also warns against the use of tobacco, which was medically accepted in her day. Her views are expressed in the writings "Healthful Living" (1897, 1898) and "The Health Food Ministry" (1970) and "The Ministry of Healing" (1905). White wrote in "The Ministry of Healing": ""Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator."


title: Ellen G. White

text: She is the founder of many health sanitariums, the most famous of which are the Battle Creek Sanitarium and the Loma Linda Sanitarium, that is now name of the Loma Linda University Medical Center. She hired American physician, inventor, and businessman John Harvey Kellogg. Her work for health reform and emphasis on healthy lifestyle is seen as the cause of the city of Loma Linda being named by researcher Dan Buettner a Blue Zone where residents live for longer lives than the average lifespan. The health reform prophecies she delivered have become church doctrine to glorify God but does not make vegetarianism a requirement for salvation. The most vegetarian church fellowship is in North America where over half of Adventists in North American are vegetarian or vegan.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Her health reform writing focused on human health but her statements also included compassion towards animals, which was unusual for her time.


title: Ellen G. White

text: According to one evangelical author, "No Christian leader or theologian has exerted as great an influence on a particular denomination as Ellen White has on Adventism." Additional authors have stated "Ellen G. White has undoubtedly been the most influential Seventh-day Adventist in the history of the church." She is frequently mentioned in non-Adventist media, with one example being Parade magazine in 2022 listing a quote from White among its list of the 100 best love quotes.


title: Ellen G. White

text: The Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., was formed as a result of White's will. It consists of a self-perpetuating board and a staff which includes a secretary (now known as the director), several associates, and a support staff. The main headquarters is at the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Branch Offices are located at Andrews University, Loma Linda University, and Oakwood University. There are 15 additional research centers located throughout the 13 remaining divisions of the world church. The mission of the White Estate is to circulate Ellen White's writings, translate them, and provide resources for helping to better understand her life and ministry. At the Toronto General Conference Session (2000) the world church expanded the mission of the White Estate to include a responsibility for promoting Adventist history for the entire denomination.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Several of White's homes are historic sites. The first home that she and her husband owned is now part of the Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, Michigan. Her other homes are privately owned with the exception of her home in Cooranbong, Australia, which she named "Sunnyside", and her last home in Saint Helena, California, which she named "Elmshaven". These latter two homes are owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the "Elmshaven" home is also a National Historic Landmark.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White inspired and guided the foundation of Avondale College, Cooranbong, leaving an educational legacy from her time in Australia. Avondale College is the main Seventh-day Adventist tertiary institution in the South-Pacific Division. In 2021, the restored White house of Sunnyside was reopened to the public. The home has architectural elements of New England adapted for Australia.


title: Ellen G. White

text: In Florence, Italy, a street is named after White. The "via Ellen Gould White" leads to the Adventist Institute "Villa Aurora" at the Viale del Pergolino.


title: Ellen G. White

text: White had a major influence on the development of vegetarian foods and vegetarian food product companies. In the U.S., these included granola, Kellogg's corn flakes, Post cereals, Soyalac soymilk, Worthington Foods, La Loma Foods, and Morningstar Farms. In 2022, the New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists had a list of 33 Adventist-affiliated vegetarian restaurants, most that were located inside the United States of America including six that serve in Texas. In Kingston, Jamaica, the three Maranatha health food stores and one restaurant are based on the health teachings of White.


title: Ellen G. White

text: In 2021, an opinion column in Australian beef industry publication "Beef Central" was critical of the influence of the Seventh-day Adventist church in shaping national food policy traced to White and the 1897 founding of the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company, which manufactures Veggie Delights plant-based meats. In 2022, journalist Avery Yale Kamila said that White's "profound and lasting influence on vegetarian food in the United States continues today."


title: Ellen G. White

text: Ellen White wrote her own biography first published in 1851 as "A Sketch of the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White". This she expanded in 1880 as "Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White" which was later expanded again by White and several authors who covered the remainder of her life, published in 1915 it remains in print as "Life Sketches of Ellen G. White" (abbreviated as LS).


title: Ellen G. White

text: The most comprehensive biography of White is an extensive six-volume work called "Ellen G. White: A Biography" written by her grandson, Arthur L. White. Thousands of articles and books have been written about various aspects of Ellen G. White's life and ministry. A large number of these can be found in the libraries at Loma Linda University and Andrews University, the two primary Seventh-day Adventist institutions with major research collections about Adventism. An "Encyclopedia of Ellen G. White" is being produced by two faculty at Andrews University: Jerry Moon, chair of the church history department, and Denis Fortin, dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary.


title: Ellen G. White

text: "Red Books: Our Search for Ellen White" is a play about White, a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the various perceptions of her throughout the history of the church. It was produced by the Dramatic Arts Society of Pacific Union College in California. It was based on interviews collected from over 200 individuals. The title derives from White's books, which were traditionally bound with a red cover.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Produced by the Seventh-Day Adventist church in 2016, the movie "Tell the World" chronicles the life of Ellen G. White, "Her guidance and advice, obtained through Bible studies, as well as dreams and visions revealed by God, guided the steps of the Church in becoming a worldwide movement of compassion in the areas of health, education, community development and disaster relief."


title: Ellen G. White

text: Most Adventists believe White's writings are inspired and continue to have relevance for the church today. Because of criticism from the evangelical community, in the 1940s and 1950s church leaders such as LeRoy Edwin Froom and Roy Allan Anderson attempted to help evangelicals understand Seventh-day Adventists better by engaging in extended dialogue that resulted in the publication of "Questions on Doctrine" (1956) that explained Adventist beliefs in evangelical language.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Evangelical Walter Martin of the countercult Christian Research Institute "rejected White's prophetic claims", yet saw her "as a genuine Christian believer", unlike her contemporaries Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, and Charles Taze Russell. Kenneth Samples, a successor of Martin in his interaction with Adventism, also denies White's prophetic claims yet "believe[s] she, at minimum, had some good biblical and theological instincts".


title: Ellen G. White

text: White's writings are sometimes referred to as the "Spirit of Prophecy" by Adventists. The term is dually applied to the Holy Spirit which inspired her writings.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Early Sabbatarian Adventists, many of whom had come out of the Christian Connection, were anti-creedal. However, as early as 1872 Adventists produced a statement of Adventist beliefs. This list was refined during the 1890s and formally included in the SDA Yearbook in 1931 with 22 points. In 1980 a statement of 27 Fundamental Beliefs was adopted, to which one was added to in 2005 to make the current list of fundamental beliefs. White is referenced in the fundamental belief on spiritual gifts. This doctrinal statement says:


title: Ellen G. White

text: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (; ; ; ; .)


title: Ellen G. White

text: Critics have voiced doubts as to the reliability of Ellen G. White as a prophetess and the authenticity of her visions.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Ronald L. Numbers, an American historian of science, criticized White for her views on health and masturbation. Numbers argues that she plagiarized vitalist writers (such as Horace Mann and Larkin B. Coles) for her arguments against masturbation. White's book "Appeal to Mothers" states that she did not copy her text from the health reform advocates and that she independently reached such conclusions. Numbers' criticism was acknowledged as significant by the staff of the White Estate, which sought to refute it in "A Critique of the Book Prophetess of Health", arguing that the similarities are due to supernatural inspiration influencing each of the authors.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Roger Coon wrote a lecture arguing that certain followers of the religion were engaging in "equal but opposite dangers" in their view of White. He described one group that overdeified her, and one group that "picks and chooses" from what teachings they follow of hers.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Critics have accused Ellen White of plagiarism. One such was Walter T. Rea, who argued against the "original" nature of her alleged revelations in his book "The White Lie." In response, The White Estate released a document to refute claims presented in "The White Lie."


title: Ellen G. White

text: An attorney who specializes in patent, trademark, and copyright cases, Vincent L. Ramik, undertook a study of Ellen G. White's writings during the early 1980s, and concluded that they were "conclusively unplagiaristic." When the plagiarism charge ignited a significant debate during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Adventist General Conference commissioned a major study by Dr. Fred Veltman to examine the issue of White's literary dependence in writing on the life of Christ. The ensuing project became known as the "'Life of Christ Research Project." Veltman examined fifteen, randomly selected chapters of The Desire of Ages for evidence of literary dependence and concluded, "On an average we may say that 31.4 percent of the DA text is dependent to some extent on literary sources." The massive report is available at the Adventist Archives. Dr. Roger W. Coon, David J. Conklin, Dr. Denis Fortin, King and Morgan, among others, undertook the refutation of the accusations of plagiarism. At the conclusion of his report, Ramik states:


title: Ellen G. White

text: It is impossible to imagine that the intention of Ellen G. White, as reflected in her writings and the unquestionably prodigious efforts involved therein, was anything other than a sincerely motivated and unselfish effort to place the understandings of Biblical truths in a coherent form for all to see and comprehend. Most certainly, the nature and content of her writings had but one hope and intent, namely, the furthering of mankind's understanding of the word of God. Considering all factors necessary in reaching a just conclusion on this issue, it is submitted that the writings of Ellen G. White were conclusively unplagiaristic.


title: Ellen G. White

text: Ramik cleared her of breaking the law of the land and time (copyright infringement/piracy). In 1911, more than 70 years before charges of plagiarism, White wrote in the introduction to "The Great Controversy" her reason for quoting, in some cases without giving due credit, certain historians whose "statements afford a ready and forcible presentation on the subject." That means that she acknowledged the charges of “uncredited paraphrasing,” a common literary practice of her time. "Spectrum", a liberal Adventist publication, claims that, due to the plagiarism scandal, "at least the educated mainstream church" ("church" meaning SDA church) no longer buys into the claim of White's "verbal inspiration".


title: Ellen G. White

text: The clearest evidence that Ellen G. White and her publisher, The Review & Herald, were guilty of illegal copyright infringement was the lawsuit filed against them by Conybeare and Howson, a major publisher in the 19th century, which documented extensive plagiarism by Ellen G. White in her book, "Sketches from the Life of Paul", taken from their book, "Life and Epistles of the Apostle Paul", published in 1855. Confronted with this evidence, the Seventh-day Adventists immediately ceased publishing Ellen G. White's book, and did not re-publish it until the Conybeare and Howson copyright had expired.


title: Ellen G. White

text: The evidence that this was no isolated incident is found in the fact that the public secular press accused Ellen G. White of extensive plagiarism, documenting that this was her general practice, and concluding that "Mrs. White is a plagiarist, a literary thief."


title: Ellen G. White

text: As interesting as this legal opinion and discussion of plagiarism may be, the real issue for White and Adventists is how her now generally-recognized practice of significant literary dependence affects her authority and inspiration.


title: Vijay Raaz

text: Vijay Raaz (born 5 June 1963) is an Indian actor, film director and narrator, who generally appears in Hindi films. He debuted with Bhopal Express (1999) and since worked in more than 90 films. His breakthrough came when he played the role of Dubeyji in the movie "Monsoon Wedding" in 2001. Raaz garnered recognition for his comedic role in "Run" (2004) and "Dhamaal" (2007). He is noted for playing gangster roles in "Delhi Belly" (2011) and "Dedh Ishqiya" (2014) as well as other notable films include "Stree" (2018), Zoya Akhtar's "Gully Boy" (2019), "Lootcase" (2020), Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Gangubai Kathiawadi" (2022). In 2014, he debuted as a director with "Kya Dilli Kya Lahore". His gruff baritone voice has been used in voice-over work, including films and commercials.


title: Vijay Raaz

text: Raaz was born in Delhi on 5 June 1963. During his studies at P.G.D.A.V. College, University of Delhi, he was a part of the dramatic society. He decided to focus on film career and moved to Mumbai where he gained a small but significant role in Ram Gopal Varma's "Jungle". Naseeruddin Shah had seen him perform at the NSD and recommended him to Mahesh Mathai for "Bhopal Express" and to Mira Nair for "Monsoon Wedding". After the success of "Monsoon Wedding", Raaz received many roles. His first mainstream film cast as the leading actor was "Raghu Romeo", a box-office success where Raaz depicts the life of a confused lower-class Indian fellow.


title: Vijay Raaz

text: Raaz garnered recognition for his comedic role in the 2004 film "Run". In 2011, he played a ruthless gangster in "Delhi Belly". His gruff baritone voice has been used in voice-over work, including films and commercials.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Carl Paul Nassib (born April 12, 1993) is an American football outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) . He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, earning unanimous All-American honors as a senior in 2015. Nassib was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Las Vegas Raiders. In 2021, Nassib became the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay and to play in a game.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Nassib was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He attended Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, where he was a three-year letterman in football. He played as an offensive tackle and defensive end. He helped lead the team to a 7–4 record in his junior and senior years. Nassib also lettered twice in basketball as well as three times in track and field. As a senior, he was selected team captain in basketball, helping lead the Friars to a 24–7 record.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Nassib enrolled at Pennsylvania State University and joined the Nittany Lions team as a walk-on in 2011. After not playing his first two years, he played in 10 games as a sophomore in 2013, during coach Bill O'Brien's second and final season with the team. Nassib recorded 12 tackles and one sack. As a junior, he appeared in all 13 games and had seven tackles and one sack. He became a starter for the first time his senior year in 2015. Nassib reached 10 sacks in only six games to start the year.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Nassib was named a unanimous All-American and the Big Ten's Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year for 2015. He won the Hendricks Award for the nation's top defensive end, and was also given the Lombardi Award for being the best college football lineman or linebacker. Nassib was also a finalist for several other awards, including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the award given to the best defensive player in the country, along with the Burlsworth Trophy given to the nation's best player who started their career as a walk-on.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Nassib was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft with the 65th pick. On June 28, Nassib signed a four-year contract worth about $3.2 million, with signing bonus worth approximately $890,000.


title: Carl Nassib

text: In his first game as a professional, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Nassib recorded one sack, three tackles, and one deflected pass, and earned a nomination for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. He played in 14 games as a rookie and became a starter in 2017.


title: Carl Nassib

text: On September 3, 2018, Nassib was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He set career highs in both sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (12) in 2018, both higher than his career totals in both categories going into the season. In two seasons with the Buccaneers, he started 17 games and totaled 12.5 sacks.


title: Carl Nassib

text: On March 27, 2020, Nassib signed a three-year, $25 million contract, including $16.75 million guaranteed, with the Las Vegas Raiders. In Week 10 of the 2020 season against the Denver Broncos, Nassib recorded his first career interception in the 37–12 win.


title: Carl Nassib

text: In the Raiders' 2021 season opener against Baltimore, broadcast on "Monday Night Football", Nassib strip sacked Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in overtime, which Las Vegas recovered to set up the winning touchdown in a 33–27 win. By playing in the game, he became the first openly gay player in NFL history to play in a game. He played in 13 games during the season with 21 tackles and sacks. In the offseason, he was released by the Raiders on March 17, 2022.


title: Carl Nassib

text: On August 16, 2022, Nassib signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and chose 93 as his jersey number. The 1-year contract is defined as a veteran salary benefit for $1.05M with $152,500 signing bonus.


title: Carl Nassib

text: Nassib's father Gilbert Nassib played college football at the University of Delaware. His older brother Ryan was a quarterback at Syracuse University and played in the NFL from 2013 to 2017.


title: Carl Nassib

text: On June 21, 2021, during Pride Month, Nassib released a statement on his Instagram account stating that he is gay, becoming the first active NFL player to come out publicly. In the statement, he pledged to donate $100,000 to The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to crisis intervention and suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth, and to continue to champion their work. He received public support from the NFL, Raiders, Penn State, and current and former athletes. That day, jerseys and T-shirts with his name were the top sellers among all NFL players at Fanatics, the league's sales partner.


title: EF English Proficiency Index

text: The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries by the equity of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test. It is the product of EF Education First, an international education company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet. The index is an online survey first published in 2011 based on test data from 1.7 million test takers. The most recent edition was released in November 2022.


title: EF English Proficiency Index

text: The EF EPI 2022 edition was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2021. The test takers were self-selected. 111 countries and territories appear in this edition of the index. In order to be included, a country was required to have at least 400 test takers.


title: EF English Proficiency Index

text: The report is composed of a country ranking table, several pages of analysis with graphs correlating other economic and social factors with English proficiency, and analysis of each region or continent. The 2022 report includes English proficiency levels by gender, age group, and region, within countries, and some English proficiency scores by city. The website displays portions of the report and has analysis of English skills in many countries and territories.


title: EF English Proficiency Index

text: The European Commission performed a language survey, "SurveyLang", which tested a representative sample of 15-year-old European students on their foreign language skills. The report and data sets were released for 13 European countries in June 2012.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Two Guys and a Girl (titled Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place for the first two seasons) is an American television sitcom created by Rick Wiener, Kenny Schwartz and Danny Jacobson. The series started as a short-run (13 episodes) mid-season replacement on March 10, 1998, on ABC. The series ran for four seasons, ending with a planned series finale, its eighty-first episode, on May 16, 2001.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The series starred Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo, and Traylor Howard as the title characters. The second season saw the arrival of two additional recurring characters, Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion) and Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer). In 2000, for the fourth season, ABC bounced the sitcom from midweek to a Friday night death slot, leading to a steep drop in ratings. After the show moved back to Wednesday for a two-week trial in an unsuccessful attempt to regain ratings, it was cancelled in May 2001. The series finale was titled "The Internet Show", an episode in which fans of the show voted on the characters' outcome online.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Focusing on the lives of twenty-somethings Michael Bergen, Pete Dunville, and Sharon Carter, the show was originally based on the life of its creator. The fictional "Beacon Street Pizza" was based on a real pizza restaurant named Theo's Pizza in Teele Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, where show creator Kenny Schwartz worked while attending nearby Tufts University. The show is set in Boston, but was filmed at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The series stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Leslie "Berg" Bergen, Richard Ruccolo as Peter "Pete" Dunville, and Traylor Howard as campus beauty Sharon Carter (later Carter-Donnelly). In the first two seasons, Berg, a slacker, works at a Boston pizza parlour, Beacon Street Pizza, with Pete. They both attend Tufts University, with Sharon, who after graduation, works as the spokesperson (or apologist) for Immaculate Chemicals.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The format of the initial season varied considerably from subsequent seasons. The first season features Jennifer Westfeldt as Melissa, Pete's girlfriend, and David Ogden Stiers as Mr Bauer, a delusional old man who frequents the pizza place, pretending that experiences from films are his own. The second season abandons these two characters, focusing on the interplay between Pete and Berg and their relationship with Sharon, who lives in the apartment above them. Berg eventually decides to attend medical school and become a doctor, while Pete drops out of architecture classes to become a career counsellor. The second season also introduces Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion), a jukebox repairman who starts dating Sharon, and Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer), a medical school classmate of Berg's who competes with him to be top of the class.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: At the start of season three, the pizza place is abandoned entirely (hence the change in the show's title), and Berg begins his medical residency. Pete becomes a vice president of a cosmetics company, and then a firefighter. Johnny and Sharon marry and become the superintendents of their apartment building. Berg goes on to date Irene (Jillian Bach), the eccentric neighbour across the hall and Pete begins dating a fellow firefighter named Marti (Tiffani Thiessen).


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The series premiered on March 10, 1998, as "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place". The episode entitled "The Pilot" was watched by almost 18 million viewers.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The story of season 1 centers around the pizza place. Actors such as Jennifer Westfeldt (Melissa), and Julius Carry (Bill) were credited as secondary cast members to principals Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo, and Traylor Howard. Mr. Bauer, played by David Ogden Stiers, frequently appeared around the pizza place, telling stories of life events which actually occurred in movies. Pete and Berg share an apartment, on which Peter pays the rent every month, with Berg testing experimental drugs to supplement their income. Pete structures his life around architecture and grad school, while Sharon, their friend upstairs, works for an evil corporation that exploits the Earth's natural resources, much to her dislike.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The episodes contained storylines including: Pete preparing for a presentation which Berg ruins; Berg stealing the Celtics' '81 championship banner; Sharon joining the softball team; and the story of how they all met. Because the episodes aired out of order, the season seems very disjointed---demonstrated by the status of Pete's relationship with Melissa: in episode 8 – "Party" Melissa and Pete are still together despite having previously broken up in episode 5 – "Apartment". On the DVD release they are episodes 2 and 7.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Season 2 had a more structured basis for each episode. Two additional primary characters arrived, Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer) and Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion), as well as the dismissal of characters Bill, Mr. Bauer, and Pete's long-time girlfriend Melissa.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The season starts with Berg's realization that someone in his class, Walker, is more clever than he is. It leads to an anticipated romance between Berg and Ashley as they both head down the path of becoming physicians. Jukebox repairman Johnny Donnelly begins a relationship with Sharon. Other secondary characters (Irene, Kamen, Shaun) are introduced throughout the season. Episodes of season 2 include: "Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement", "Two Guys, a Girl and a Valentine's Day", and "Two Guys, a Girl and Ashley's Return", all of which mark turning points in the story of the show. Johnny and Sharon break up on Valentine's Day due to Sharon's jealousy of Shaun, Johnny's (female) best friend. Berg and Ashley finally get together in "...And Ashley's Return". Pete confesses his feelings towards Sharon, and Johnny proposes in "...And an Engagement". The season ends with Sharon not giving Johnny an answer as well as her realizing she may have feelings for Pete. It left the show with a cliffhanger after ABC had renewed it for another season.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The pizza place is completely abandoned in the third season so that the characters could pursue different dreams. The premiere resolves the season two cliffhanger, with Sharon answering Johnny's proposal with 'Yes, in theory,' although she is still holding out on her feelings for Pete. Evidently, Pete flew to Paris after the night's events and returns completely over Sharon, with a new girlfriend who speaks only French and is revealed to be extremely racist. Berg and Ashley continue to build on their relationship and finally become doctors involved in psych rotations. The season portrays their relationship as unsteady and completely built on hate of one another. It leads to Berg breaking up with Ashley during the middle of the season.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Ashley lives with Pete and Berg before moving into her own apartment, which was originally Sharon's and Johnny's, who move to the basement to become the new supers. She starts dating Boston Red Sox baseball star Nomar Garciaparra, who appears as himself. Pete finds his true calling by becoming a firefighter. He enjoys the experiences of being an honorary firefighter until the feisty Marti, played by Tiffani Thiessen, comes along to thwart him at every turn. The two continue to take shots at each other until she starts dating Berg, to Pete's dislike. Pete and Berg get into a huge fight concerning Marti and consider not being roommates anymore.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: When Pete gets his acceptance letter to Fireman Boot Camp, he goes to Marti with open arms and they become an item. Pete continues to hate Berg throughout the final episodes of the season. Sharon and Johnny bicker at one another until Johnny calls off the wedding. When they get back together, they decide that a quickie wedding is the best idea. Irene, Pete's alleged stalker, agrees to throw Sharon and Johnny a wedding on the roof of the building; it results in her inviting Robert Goulet, who conducts the ceremony and brings Pete and Berg back together as friends during the wedding.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: At the end of the two part season finale, Pete and Marti leave to go to Fireman Boot Camp, Sharon and Johnny go on their honeymoon, and Ashley leaves to sort out a joke that Pete told Nomar, causing his and Ashley's break-up. Berg and Irene are left alone at the wedding and start to dance. The series ends with another cliffhanger as the audience is led to believe something will happen between Berg and Irene. The series was renewed for another season due to its 10.2 million average viewers during season 3.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: In 2001, ABC moved the sitcom from mid-week to Friday and the show's average viewers dropped from 10.2 to 6.7 million.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Season 4 continues the story arc from the end of Season 3. Johnny and Sharon are married, Pete and Marti are now firefighters, and Berg and Irene are sleeping together. After Berg gets over being on academic probation, he continues to be Irene's "sex buddy". The two start sleeping together secretly, hoping that Pete won't know.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Johnny continues to be the superintendent until Sharon makes him an honorary fireman for the day on his birthday. Johnny decides that he wants to be a fireman, much to Sharon's dislike. Meanwhile, Berg and Irene become a couple and Pete and Marti break up. Marti leaves Pete for Ashley's ex, Nomar. Sharon feels unfulfilled after leaving her evil corporate job and decides that she wants to be a lawyer.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: When Berg tells Irene that he loves her and she has no reply, Berg goes out and meets someone else. Katie, the girl he meets, admits that she's been following him for 8 years. The two kiss, and Berg tells Irene. Berg apologizes and Irene breaks up with him for the mailman Roger. In the final episode, Berg assumes that Irene may be pregnant and decides that he must win her back.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The series finale is titled "The Internet Show", and was an episode in which fans of the show voted on the outcome online. The episode aired on May 16, 2001. It was written by Donald Beck and Vince Calandra and directed by Michael Lembeck.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: In the episode, Sharon thinks she may be pregnant and Ashley realizes she could be too. Ashley goes into denial, despite showing symptoms, but agrees to take a pregnancy test with Sharon. When Berg finds out from a news report that a glow-in-the-dark condom he used was defective he thinks Irene could be pregnant. Not wanting to worry her, he tries to get a urine sample from her without telling her. Pete is still annoyed at Ashley for giving up on their relationship to go to Stanford.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: Four different endings were filmed for viewers to decide whether one of the three central female characters (Sharon, Ashley, or Irene) should become pregnant or whether none should be. The plan was to have the pregnant one (which ultimately ended up being Ashley) give birth at the end of the proposed fifth season. However, a fifth season of the show never materialized; by the time the fourth-season finale aired in May 2001, the show had been cancelled due to low ratings.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The show had strong ratings success during its run, peaking in season 2 with an average of 12.0 million viewers. The series premiere, titled "The Pilot", was watched by 17.94 million viewers, airing after "The Drew Carey Show". The episode got a 15.61 Nielsen rating and won its 18-49 adult demographic. It was ABC's biggest opening since "Spin City". The eleventh episode of season 1, "Two Guys, a Girl and How They Met", got a 6.7 Nielsen rating, a big drop from the series premiere. The estimated number of viewers was 7.69 million.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The show continued to have success during the first few seasons but never reached the high rating of "The Pilot". Its key adult 18–49 audience was predominantly female (55%). It was ranked #1 in its time period with Total Viewers, outperforming "Beverly Hills, 90210", "The Nanny", and "Dawson's Creek". It was also #1 in its time slot with key adults 18–49 and with all male demographics. It was the #3 sitcom on ABC with key adults 18–34.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The title sequence for the first two seasons consists of a short collection of images of the three main characters, and a few cartoon images of them drinking and eating pizza at the pizza place, which alternated with a logo saying "Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place". The title screen is accompanied by an instrumental cover of the song "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The title sequence for Seasons 3 and 4 shows Pete, Berg and Sharon dancing to a more modern piece of music in front of a plain white backdrop, wearing suits and dresses. The newly adapted logo (the show's name having changed) is seen overlaying the footage as the three dance and laugh.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: The music for the series was composed by Freddy Curci, Tom Rizzo and Mark Vogel. The music for Seasons 1 and 2 included numerous variations on the title theme, a prime example of which is "Two Guys, a Girl and a Vacation" where the cast members do a short rendition of "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys. Steel drums and Caribbean instruments were used to vary the title theme within the scenes of the episode.


title: Two Guys and a Girl

text: On June 28, 2016, Shout! Factory released "Two Guys and A Girl: The Complete Series" on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. The 11-disc set features all 81 episodes of the series, as well as the series' alternate finale.


title: Incense

text: Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent.


title: Incense

text: Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses.


title: Incense

text: Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, or a paste that is extruded into a stick or cone shape.


title: Incense

text: Combustible bouquets were used by the ancient Egyptians, who employed incense in both pragmatic and mystical capacities. The purpose of the usage of incense stick varies; some people use it for the duration of meditation and rituals, even as some use it to kill insects. Incense was burnt to counteract or obscure malodorous products of human habitation, but was widely perceived to also deter malevolent demons and appease the gods with its pleasant aroma. Resin balls were found in many prehistoric Egyptian tombs in El Mahasna, giving evidence for the prominence of incense and related compounds in Egyptian antiquity. One of the oldest extant incense burners originates from the 5th dynasty. The Temple of Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt contains a series of carvings that depict an expedition for incense.


title: Incense

text: The Babylonians used incense while offering prayers to divining oracles. Incense spread from there to Greece and Rome.


title: Incense

text: Incense burners have been found in the Indus Civilization (3300–1300 BCE). Evidence suggests oils were used mainly for their aroma. This was the first usage of subterranean plant parts in incense. New herbs like Sarsaparilla seeds, frankincense, and cypress were used by Indians.


title: Incense

text: The oldest source on incense is the Vedas, specifically the Atharva-veda and the Rigveda. Incense-burning was used both to create pleasing aromas and a medicinal tool. Its use in medicine is considered the first phase of Ayurveda, which uses incense as an approach to healing. The practice of incense as a healing tool was assimilated into the religious practices of the time. As Hinduism matured and Buddhism was founded in India, incense became an integral part of Buddhism as well. Around 200 CE, a group of wandering Buddhist monks introduced incense stick making to China. Some incense, depending on the contents, may also act as organic insect repellent.


title: Incense

text: At around 2000 BCE, Ancient China began the use of incense in the religious sense, namely for worship. Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The earliest documented use of incense comes from the ancient Chinese, who employed incense composed of herbs and plant products (such as cassia, cinnamon, styrax, and sandalwood) as a component of numerous formalized ceremonial rites. Incense usage reached its peak during the Song dynasty with numerous buildings erected specifically for incense ceremonies.


title: Incense

text: Brought to Japan in the 6th century by Korean Buddhist monks, who used the mystical aromas in their purification rites, the delicate scents of Koh (high-quality Japanese incense) became a source of amusement and entertainment with nobles in the Imperial Court during the Heian Era 200 years later. During the 14th-century Ashikaga shogunate, a samurai warrior might perfume his helmet and armor with incense to achieve an aura of invincibility (as well as to make a noble gesture to whoever might take his head in battle). It wasn't until the Muromachi period during the 15th and 16th century that incense appreciation (, ) spread to the upper and middle classes of Japanese society.


title: Incense

text: A variety of materials have been used in making incense. Historically there has been a preference for using locally available ingredients. For example, sage and cedar were used by the indigenous peoples of North America. Trading in incense materials comprised a major part of commerce along the Silk Road and other trade routes, one notably called the Incense Route.


title: Incense

text: Local knowledge and tools were extremely influential on the style, but methods were also influenced by migrations of foreigners, such as clergy and physicians.


title: Incense

text: The combustible base of a direct burning incense mixture not only binds the fragrant material together but also allows the produced incense to burn with a self-sustained ember, which propagates slowly and evenly through an entire piece of incense with such regularity that it can be used to mark time. The base is chosen such that it does not produce a perceptible smell. Commercially, two types of incense base predominate:


title: Incense

text: Incense is available in various forms and degrees of processing. They can generally be separated into "direct-burning" and "indirect-burning" types. Preference for one form or another varies with culture, tradition, and personal taste. The two differ in their composition due to the former's requirement for even, stable, and sustained burning.


title: Incense

text: Indirect-burning incense, also called "non-combustible incense", is an aromatic material or combination of materials, such as resins, that does not contain combustible material and so requires a separate heat source. Finer forms tend to burn more rapidly, while coarsely ground or whole chunks may be consumed very gradually, having less surface area. Heat is traditionally provided by charcoal or glowing embers. In the West, the best known incense materials of this type are the resins frankincense and myrrh, likely due to their numerous mentions in the Bible. Frankincense means "pure incense", though in common usage refers specifically to the resin of the boswellia tree.


title: Incense

text: Direct-burning incense, also called "combustible incense", is lit directly by a flame. The glowing ember on the incense will continue to smoulder and burn the rest of the incense without further application of external heat or flame. Direct-burning incense is either extruded, pressed into forms, or coated onto a supporting material. This class of incense is made from a moldable substrate of fragrant finely ground (or liquid) incense materials and odourless binder. The composition must be adjusted to provide fragrance in the proper concentration and to ensure even burning. The following types are commonly encountered, though direct-burning incense can take nearly any form, whether for expedience or whimsy.


title: Incense

text: Moxa tablets, which are disks of powdered mugwort used in Traditional Chinese medicine for moxibustion, are not incenses; the treatment is by heat rather than fragrance.


title: Incense

text: Incense sticks may be termed joss sticks, especially in parts of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Among ethnic Chinese and Chinese-influenced communities these are traditionally burned at temples, before the threshold of a home or business, before an image of a religious divinity or local spirit, or in shrines, large and small, found at the main entrance of every village. Here the earth god is propitiated in the hope of bringing wealth and health to the village. They can also be burned in front of a door or open window as an offering to heaven, or the devas. The word "joss" is derived from the Latin "deus" (god) via the Portuguese "deus" through the Javanese "dejos", through Chinese pidgin English.


title: Incense

text: The raw materials are powdered and then mixed together with a binder to form a paste, which, for direct burning incense, is then cut and dried into pellets. Incense of the Athonite Orthodox Christian tradition is made by powdering frankincense or fir resin, mixing it with essential oils. Floral fragrances are the most common, but citrus such as lemon is not uncommon. The incense mixture is then rolled out into a slab approximately thick and left until the slab has firmed. It is then cut into small cubes, coated with clay powder to prevent adhesion, and allowed to fully harden and dry. In Greece this rolled incense resin is called 'Moskolibano', and generally comes in either a pink or green colour denoting the fragrance, with pink being rose and green being jasmine.


title: Incense

text: "Dipped" or "hand-dipped" direct-burning incense is created by dipping "incense blanks" made of unscented combustible dust into any suitable kind of essential or fragrance oil. These are often sold in the United States by flea-market and sidewalk vendors who have developed their own styles. This form of incense requires the least skill and equipment to manufacture, since the blanks are pre-formed in China or South East Asia.


title: Incense

text: Incense mixtures can be extruded or pressed into shapes. Small quantities of water are combined with the fragrance and incense base mixture and kneaded into a hard dough. The incense dough is then pressed into shaped forms to create "cone" and smaller "coiled" incense, or forced through a hydraulic press for "solid stick" incense. The formed incense is then trimmed and slowly dried. Incense produced in this fashion has a tendency to warp or become misshapen when improperly dried, and as such must be placed in climate-controlled rooms and rotated several times through the drying process.


title: Incense

text: Traditionally, the bamboo core of cored stick incense is prepared by hand from "Phyllostachys heterocycla cv. pubescens" since this species produces thick wood and easily burns to ashes in the incense stick. In a process known as "splitting the foot of the incense stick", the bamboo is trimmed to length, soaked, peeled, and split in halves until the thin sticks of bamboo have square cross sections of less than 3mm. This process has been largely replaced by machines in modern incense production.


title: Incense

text: In the case of cored incensed sticks, several methods are employed to coat the sticks cores with incense mixture:


title: Incense

text: Indirect-burning incense is burned directly on top of a heat source or on a hot metal plate in a censer or thurible.


title: Incense

text: In Japan a similar censer called a is used by several Buddhist sects. The is usually made of brass, with a long handle and no chain. Instead of charcoal, powder is poured into a depression made in a bed of ash. The is lit and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as (religious burning).


title: Incense

text: For direct-burning incense, the tip or end of the incense is ignited with a flame or other heat source until the incense begins to turn into ash at the burning end. The flame is then fanned or blown out, leaving the incense to smolder.


title: Incense

text: In most Arab countries, incense is burned in the form of scented chips or blocks called ( ). Incense is used on special occasions like weddings or on Fridays or generally to perfume the house. The is usually burned in a ( or ), a traditional incense burner (censer) similar to the Somali . It is customary in many Arab countries to pass among the guests in the (, 'congregation'). This is done as a gesture of hospitality.


title: Incense

text: For over two thousand years, the Chinese have used incense in religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, traditional Chinese medicine, and daily life. Agarwood () and sandalwood () are the two most important ingredients in Chinese incense.


title: Incense

text: Along with the introduction of Buddhism in China came calibrated incense sticks and incense clocks. The first known record is by poet Yu Jianwu (487–551): "By burning incense we know the o'clock of the night, With graduated candles we confirm the tally of the watches." The use of these incense timekeeping devices spread from Buddhist monasteries into Chinese secular society.


title: Incense

text: Incense-stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional Chinese religion. There are many different types of stick used for different purposes or on different festive days. Many of them are long and thin. Sticks are mostly coloured yellow, red, or more rarely, black. Thick sticks are used for special ceremonies, such as funerals. Spiral incense, with exceedingly long burn times, is often hung from temple ceilings. In some states, such as Taiwan, Singapore, or Malaysia, where they celebrate the Ghost Festival, large, pillar-like dragon incense sticks are sometimes used. These generate so much smoke and heat that they are only burned outside.


title: Incense

text: Chinese incense sticks for use in popular religion are generally odorless or only use the slightest trace of jasmine or rose, since it is the smoke, not the scent, which is important in conveying the prayers of the faithful to heaven. They are composed of the dried powdered bark of a non-scented species of cinnamon native to Cambodia, "Cinnamomum cambodianum". Inexpensive packs of 300 are often found for sale in Chinese supermarkets. Though they contain no sandalwood, they often include the Chinese character for sandalwood on the label, as a generic term for incense.


title: Incense

text: Highly scented Chinese incense sticks are used by some Buddhists. These are often quite expensive due to the use of large amounts of sandalwood, agarwood, or floral scents used. The sandalwood used in Chinese incenses does not come from India, its native home, but rather from groves planted within Chinese territory. Sites belonging to Tzu Chi, Chung Tai Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Xingtian Temple, or City of Ten Thousand Buddhas do not use incense.


title: Incense

text: Incense sticks, also known as () and joss sticks, in which an incense paste is rolled or moulded around a bamboo stick, are the main forms of incense in India. The bamboo method originated in India and is distinct from the Nepali/Tibetan and Japanese methods of stick making without bamboo cores.


title: Incense

text: The basic ingredients are the bamboo stick, the paste (generally made of charcoal dust and joss/jiggit/gum/tabu powder – an adhesive made from the bark of litsea glutinosa and other trees), and the perfume ingredients - which would be a masala (spice mix) powder of ground ingredients into which the stick would be rolled, or a perfume liquid sometimes consisting of synthetic ingredients into which the stick would be dipped. Perfume is sometimes sprayed on the coated sticks. Stick machines are sometimes used, which coat the stick with paste and perfume, though the bulk of production is done by hand rolling at home. There are about 5,000 incense companies in India that take raw unperfumed sticks hand-rolled by approximately 200,000 women working part-time at home, and then apply their own brand of perfume, and package the sticks for sale. An experienced home-worker can produce 4,000 raw sticks a day. There are about 50 large companies that together account for up to 30% of the market, and around 500 of the companies, including a significant number of the main ones, including Moksh Agarbatti, PremaNature, and Cycle Pure, are based in Mysore.


title: Incense

text: Ketoret () was the incense offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and is stated in the Book of Exodus to be a mixture of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense.


title: Incense

text: In Japan incense appreciation folklore includes art, culture, history, and ceremony. Incense burning may occasionally take place within the tea ceremony, just like calligraphy, ikebana, and scroll arrangement. , the art of incense appreciation, is generally practiced as a separate art form from the tea ceremony, and usually within a tea room of traditional Zen design.


title: Incense

text: Japanese incense companies divide agarwood into six categories depending on its properties and the region from which it is obtained. , a type of agarwood, is currently worth more than its weight in gold.


title: Incense

text: Incense fragrances can be of such great strength that they obscure other less desirable odours. This utility led to the use of incense in funerary ceremonies because the incense could smother the scent of decay. An example, as well as of religious use, is the giant Botafumeiro thurible that swings from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is used in part to mask the scent of the many tired, unwashed pilgrims huddled together in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.


title: Incense

text: A similar utilitarian use of incense can be found in the post-Reformation Church of England. Although the ceremonial use of incense was abandoned until the Oxford Movement, it was common to have incense (typically frankincense) burned before grand occasions, when the church would be crowded. The frankincense was carried about by a member of the vestry before the service in a vessel called a 'perfuming pan'. In iconography of the day, this vessel is shown to be elongated and flat, with a single long handle on one side. The perfuming pan was used instead of the thurible, as the latter would have likely offended the Protestant sensibilities of the 17th and 18th centuries.


title: Incense

text: The regular burning of direct-burning incense has been used for chronological measurement in incense clocks. These devices can range from a simple trail of incense material calibrated to burn in a specific time period, to elaborate and ornate instruments with bells or gongs, designed to involve multiple senses.


title: Incense

text: Incense made from materials such as citronella can repel mosquitoes and other irritating, distracting, or pestilential insects. This use has been deployed in concert with religious uses by Zen Buddhists who claim that the incense that is part of their meditative practice is designed to keep bothersome insects from distracting the practitioner.


title: Incense

text: Many people burn incense to appreciate its smell, without assigning any other specific significance to it, in the same way that the foregoing items can be produced or consumed solely for the contemplation or enjoyment of the aroma. An example is the , where (frequently costly) raw incense materials such as agarwood are appreciated in a formal setting.


title: Incense

text: Religious use of incense is prevalent in many cultures and may have roots in the practical and aesthetic uses, considering that many of these religions have little else in common. One common motif is incense as a form of sacrificial offering to a deity. Such use was common in Judaic worship and remains in use for example in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches, Taoist and Buddhist Chinese (, 'offer incense [to ancestors/gods]'), etc.


title: Incense

text: Incense clocks are used to time social, medical and religious practices in parts of eastern Asia. They are primarily used in Buddhism as a timer of meditation and prayer. Different types of incense burn at different rates; therefore, different incense are used for different practices. The duration of burning ranges from minutes to months.


title: Incense

text: Incense has been used as an aphrodisiac in some cultures. Both ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian mythology suggest the usage of incense by goddesses and nymphs. Incense is thought to heighten sexual desires and sexual attraction.


title: Incense

text: Incense is claimed to cleanse and restore energy in healing stones. The technique used is called “smoke cleansing” and is done by holding a healing stone over the smoke of burning incense for 20 to 30 seconds. Some people believe that this process not only restores energy but eliminates negative energy.


title: Incense

text: Incense smoke contains various contaminants including gaseous pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (), sulfur oxides (), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and adsorbed toxic pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and toxic metals). The solid particles range between around . In a comparison, Indian sandalwood was found to have the highest emission rate, followed by Japanese aloeswood, then Taiwanese aloeswood, while Chinese smokeless sandalwood had the least.


title: Incense

text: Research carried out in Taiwan in 2001 linked the burning of incense sticks to the slow accumulation of potential carcinogens in a poorly ventilated environment by measuring the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzopyrene) within Buddhist temples. The study found gaseous aliphatic aldehydes, which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, in incense smoke.


title: Incense

text: A survey of risk factors for lung cancer, also conducted in Taiwan, noted an inverse association between incense burning and adenocarcinoma of the lung, though the finding was not deemed significant.


title: Incense

text: In contrast, epidemiologists at the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, and several other centers found: "No association was found between exposure to incense burning and respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, chronic sputum, chronic bronchitis, runny nose, wheezing, asthma, allergic rhinitis, or pneumonia among the three populations studied: i.e. primary school children, their non-smoking mothers, or a group of older non-smoking female controls. Incense burning did not affect lung cancer risk among non-smokers, but it significantly reduced risk among smokers, even after adjusting for lifetime smoking amount." However, the researchers qualified their findings by noting that incense burning in the studied population was associated with certain low-cancer-risk dietary habits, and concluded that "diet can be a significant confounder of epidemiological studies on air pollution and respiratory health."


title: Incense

text: Although several studies have not shown a link between incense and lung cancer, many other types of cancer have been directly linked to burning incense. A study published in 2008 in the medical journal "Cancer" found that incense use is associated with a statistically significant higher risk of cancers of the upper respiratory tract, with the exception of nasopharyngeal cancer. Those who used incense heavily also were 80% more likely to develop squamous-cell carcinomas. The link between incense use and increased cancer risk held when the researchers weighed other factors, including cigarette smoking, diet and drinking habits. The research team noted that "This association is consistent with a large number of studies identifying carcinogens in incense smoke, and given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke from burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications."


title: Incense

text: In 2015, the South China University of Technology found toxicity of incense to Chinese hamsters' ovarian cells to be even higher than cigarettes.


title: Incense

text: Incensole acetate, a component of frankincense, has been shown to have anxiolytic-like and antidepressive-like effects in mice, mediated by activation of poorly-understood TRPV3 ion channels in the brain.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: AEW Dynamite, also known as Wednesday Night Dynamite or simply Dynamite, is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on TBS. The show was originally aired on TBS's sister channel, TNT, from October 2019 to December 2021. "AEW Dynamite" is the first professional wrestling program to air on TBS since the final episode of "WCW Thunder" on March 21, 2001.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: Since premiering, "Dynamite " has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its storylines, characters, and match quality. In 2020, "TV Guide" listed "Dynamite" at 57 of the top 100 shows on TV, saying ""AEW Dynamite"s arrival was an electric jolt to mainstream wrestling, which had gotten creatively stagnant over the last few years."


title: AEW Dynamite

text: All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was launched in January 2019. In addition to filing trademarks for the promotion's name, several other trademarks were filed at the time, including Tuesday Night Dynamite, presumably a name for a television show. In June 2019, AEW filed an additional trademark for Wednesday Night Dynamite, leading to many sources believing the show would air on Wednesday nights under this name.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On May 15, 2019, AEW and WarnerMedia announced a deal for a weekly prime-time show airing live on TNT, the former broadcaster of World Championship Wrestling (WCW). They would also stream live events and pay-per-views on B/R Live in the United States and Canada. In April, veteran commentator Jim Ross confirmed the show would be a weekly two-hour show. During AEW's Fight for the Fallen event, AEW wrestler Chris Jericho revealed the show would begin airing in October. On July 24, AEW announced the show would premiere on Wednesday, October 2, and would broadcast from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.; the show sold out within 3 hours of tickets going on sale. AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan said that they chose to air the show on Wednesday nights instead of Tuesday nights because TNT airs the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and it also prevented competition against the National Football League (NFL) on Thursday nights, as Khan also owns an NFL franchise.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In August 2019, WWE announced that it was moving their WWE Network show "NXT" to the USA Network and expanding the program to a live, two-hour broadcast in the same timeslot as AEW's upcoming show. "NXT" premiered on USA on September 18, two weeks before AEW's broadcast debut on TNT. On August 30, the day before AEW's pay-per-view All Out, TNT aired a one-hour special called "Countdown to All Out" at 10pm Eastern Time (ET), which averaged 390,000 viewers.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: Like they had done for each of their pay-per-view events, AEW began a "Road to" YouTube series on September 4 entitled "The Road to AEW on TNT" to build anticipation for the debut broadcast of the show. On September 19, 2019, the show's name was revealed as "Dynamite". A two-hour preview show called "Countdown to All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite" aired on October 1 at 8pm ET; it averaged 631,000 viewers.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On October 2, 2019, "Dynamite" debuted on TNT which averaged 1.409 million viewers, which made it the largest television debut on TNT in the past five years. Also on October 2, "NXT" would make their two-hour debut on USA Network (the previous two episodes featured the first hour on USA with the second hour on the WWE Network), and they averaged 891,000 viewers. "Dynamite" beat out "NXT" in viewership and more than doubled its competition in the key adults 18–49 demographic, scoring 878,000 viewers compared to "NXT"s 414,000. This would also mark the beginning of the "Wednesday Night Wars". Prior to and after the episode, dark matches were filmed to air on AEW's YouTube show called "Dark", which began airing on the following Tuesday (except before pay-per-view events, where the episodes air Fridays). Despite AEW's initial attempts to avoid conflicts with the NBA games, AEW had to run "Dynamite" on Thursdays, and even on a Saturday, due to the NBA playoffs. "Dynamite" was the first wrestling show to air on TNT since the final episode of "WCW Monday Nitro" on March 26, 2001.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020, which caused restrictions for live events around the world, AEW ran empty arena shows from March 18–25 and again from May 6–August 19 from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, and taped six weeks of shows from March 31 to April 2 from One Fall Power Factory in Norcross, Georgia, AEW's "de facto" training facility. During these broadcasts, AEW used their employees and other in-ring talent to serve as the live audience for matches when they were not involved in matches or other on-air segments. AEW later began allowing more family and friends of essential personnel to attend, and on August 27, 2020 (moved to Thursday because of the NBA playoffs), AEW resumed live audiences from Daily's Place, though to a limited capacity of 10–15% of the venue. During the pandemic, in order to allow more time off, AEW often taped two weeks of shows in two days (live Wednesday, then a taping Thursday), which allowed wrestlers a week off. This procedure also allowed AEW to pre-tape Thanksgiving and Christmas shows in advance using the format. AEW then began running shows at full capacity of Daily's Place in May 2021. Also in May, AEW announced that they would be returning to live touring, beginning with a special episode of "Dynamite" titled Road Rager on July 7, in turn becoming the first major professional wrestling promotion to resume live touring during the pandemic. Road Rager was also the first in a four-week span of special "Dynamite" episodes called the "Welcome Back" tour, which continued with the two-part Fyter Fest on July 14 and 21 and concluded with Fight for the Fallen on July 28.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In regard to the addition of "Rampage", WarnerMedia had asked Khan if he would rather expand "Dynamite" to three hours, but he rejected the notion, stating that he did not want to run "Dynamite" for that length as he really wanted that third hour as a separate show on a different night. He also claimed that "Rampage" would not be a secondary show to "Dynamite", and that it would be its partner or its equivalent. He further said that "Dynamite" and "Rampage" would be AEW's core properties, while their YouTube shows, "Dark" and "", would be their peripheral properties, essentially their developmental shows.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: It was announced on October 25, 2021, that "Dynamite" would start airing live from coast to coast starting with the October 27 episode (the show's return to Wednesday nights after two weeks due to TNT's coverage of the NHL). This lasted until "Dynamite"s move to TBS.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On January 5, 2022, "Dynamite" moved from TNT to TBS for the first professional wrestling program to air on TBS since 2001.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: The wrestlers featured on All Elite Wrestling take part in scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In the United States, "Dynamite" airs live Wednesdays on TBS at 8pm ET. On January 15, 2020, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery had extended the contract for the series through 2023. The show originally aired on TBS's sister channel, TNT, from October 2019 to December 2021.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On September 25, 2019, AEW announced an international streaming deal with FITE TV primarily for regions outside of the United States and Canada via the "AEW Plus" package, which includes live streaming and replay access of "Dynamite" in simulcast with its U.S. airing.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In Canada, Bell Media's TSN acquired broadcast rights to "Dynamite", marking the return of professional wrestling to the network after "WWE Raw" moved to rival network The Score (now Sportsnet 360) in 2006. The show is broadcast in simulcast with TNT in the U.S (but is subject to scheduling) and is streamed on TSN Direct as well as TSN's website. Starting August 24, 2022, Dynamite will also air in French on Réseau des sports (RDS).


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In the United Kingdom, AEW has a deal with ITV network to broadcast AEW shows, with Dynamite airing on ITV4 every Friday night, with repeats every Monday night on ITV. It's also available to view on their streaming service ITV Hub.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On July 21, 2020, Sky Sport and AEW announced a deal to air "Dynamite" on Friday nights in Italy, replacing WWE programming. AEW also aired on Sport Extra in Romania from 2020 until 2022. "Dynamite" aired in Poland from March 5 until August 27, 2022 on Warner TV. In Spain, "AEW" announced that was going to air Dynamite on TNT starting on June 17, 2022, and later live from June 19, 2022.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On October 22, 2020, AEW reached an agreement with the digital platform with Pluto TV broadcasting its repeat events (including past pay-per-view) with commentators in Spanish from Latin America.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: On November 22, 2020, "Dynamite" began airing on Space, a WarnerMedia International channel in Brazil and on Space's Spanish feed, available throughout Latin America on Sundays. On September 30, 2022, it was announced that AEW would stop airing on Space in Latin America on October 1, with Brazil following on December 30.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: "Dynamite" began airing on TNT Africa on February 5, 2021, in English-speaking countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The show airs every Sunday morning at 10 AM CAT, four days after the U.S. broadcast.


title: AEW Dynamite

text: In India, "AEW" is announced to be airing Dynamite on Eurosport starting on August 15, 2021, and later live from August 19, 2021, every Thursday on 5:30am IST. "Dynamite" began airing on Premier Sports in the Philippines on September 25, 2021. On April 8, 2022, it was announced that as part of the AEW and NJPW working relationship that "Dynamite" would air in Japan on NJPW World.


title: Latin Empire

text: The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantine Empire as the Western-recognized Roman Empire in the east, with a Catholic emperor enthroned in place of the Eastern Orthodox Roman emperors.


title: Latin Empire

text: The Fourth Crusade had originally been called to retake the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem but a sequence of economic and political events culminated in the Crusader army sacking the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Originally, the plan had been to restore the deposed Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos, who had been usurped by Alexios III Angelos, to the throne. The crusaders had been promised financial and military aid by Isaac's son Alexios IV, with which they had planned to continue to Jerusalem. When the crusaders reached Constantinople the situation quickly turned volatile and while Isaac and Alexios briefly ruled, the crusaders did not receive the payment they had hoped for. In April 1204, they captured and plundered the city's enormous wealth.


title: Latin Empire

text: The crusaders selected their own emperor from among their own ranks, Baldwin of Flanders, and divided the territory of the Byzantine Empire into various new vassal crusader states. The Latin Empire's authority was immediately challenged by Byzantine rump states led by the Laskaris family (connected to the Angelos dynasty of 1185–1204) in Nicaea and the Komnenos family (which had ruled as Byzantine Emperors 1081–1185) in Trebizond. From 1224 to 1242 the Komnenos Doukas family, also connected to the Angeloi, challenged Latin authority from Thessalonica. The Latin Empire failed to attain political or economic dominance over the other Latin powers that had been established in former Byzantine territories in the wake of the Fourth Crusade, especially Venice, and after a short initial period of military successes it went into a steady decline due to constant war with Bulgaria to the north and the various Byzantine claimants. Eventually, the Nicene Empire recovered Constantinople and restored the Byzantine Empire under Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261. The last Latin emperor, Baldwin II, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several pretenders to it, until the 14th century.


title: Latin Empire

text: Like the term "Byzantine Empire", "Latin Empire" was not a contemporary term used by the empire itself or the rest of the world. The Byzantines referred to the Latin Empire as the "Frankokratia" (, "rule of the Franks") or the "Latinokratia" (, "rule of the Latins") and the Latin Emperors themselves referred to the empire by various names, commonly ( Empire of Constantinople), but also ( Empire of Romania) and ( Empire of the Romans). The term "Romania" ("Land of the Romans") had been used unofficially by the population of the Byzantine Empire for their country for centuries.


title: Latin Empire

text: Much like the term "Byzantine", which was invented in the 16th century, "Latin Empire" was not a contemporary name used by or for the regime set up by the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople. Instead, both terms were invented much later by historians seeking to differentiate between the classical period of the Roman Empire, the medieval period of the Byzantine Empire, and the late medieval Latin Empire, all of which called themselves "Roman". The term "Latin" has been used by these later historians because the crusaders (Franks, Venetians, and other westerners) were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used Greek in both liturgy and common speech. The Byzantines referred to the Latin Empire as the "Frankokratia" (Φραγκοκρατία, lit. "rule of the Franks") or the "Latinokratia" (Λατινοκρατία, lit. "rule of the Latins").


title: Latin Empire

text: Founding treaties issued by the crusaders specifically refer to the empire as the "imperium Constantinopolitanum" ("Empire of Constantinople"). Although this is a marked departure from the standard Byzantine nomenclature and ideology (designating the empire as the "Basileía Rhōmaíōn", "Empire of the Romans"), "imperium Constantinopolitanum" was the standard name used for the eastern empire in western sources, such as in papal correspondence, and suggests that the Latin leaders viewed themselves as “taking over” the empire rather than “replacing” it. It would have been difficult for the crusaders to justify referring to the empire as "Roman" considering that Western Europe generally held the Germanic Holy Roman Empire to represent the legitimate Roman Empire.