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Bill Laswell

William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.

According to music critic Chris Brazier, "Laswell's pet concept is 'collision music' which involves bringing together musicians from wildly divergent but complementary spheres and seeing what comes out." Although his bands may be credited under the same name and often feature the same roster of musicians, the styles and themes explored on different albums can vary dramatically. Material began as a noisy dance music band, but later albums concentrated on hip hop, jazz, or spoken word readings by William S. Burroughs. Most versions of the band Praxis have included guitarist Buckethead, but they have explored different permutations on albums.

Early years
Laswell got his earliest professional experience as a bass guitarist in R&B and funk bands in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan. He saw shows that combined genres, such as Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, and Funkadelic. He was also influenced by jazz musicians John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Miles Davis.

New York and Material
In the late 1970s Laswell moved to New York City, immersing himself in the thriving New York music scene. He moved into producer Giorgio Gomelsky's loft and became part of a group of musicians that would become the first version of Material. Material became the backing band for Daevid Allen and New York Gong. The band consisted of Laswell, keyboardist Michael Beinhorn, and drummer Fred Maher. They were usually supplemented by guitarists Cliff Cultreri or Robert Quine.

He worked with Brian Eno, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Daniel Ponce, Ginger Baker, Peter Brötzmann, Kip Hanrahan, Sonny Sharrock, and with musicians in no wave, a genre that combined avant-garde jazz, funk, and punk.

He started a recording studio with Martin Bisi and met Jean Karakos, owner of Celluloid Records. Under the Material name Laswell became the de facto house producer for Celluloid until the label was sold in the 1980s. He recorded music that was experimental, combining jazz, funk, pop, and R&B, by musicians such as Whitney Houston, Sonny Sharrock, Archie Shepp, Henry Threadgill, and the band Massacre with Fred Frith and Fred Maher. His association with Celluloid allowed his first forays into "collision music", a term coined by British writer Chris May of Black Music & Jazz Review. Recordings with the Golden Palominos and production on albums by Shango, Toure Kunda, and Fela Kuti appeared on the label. Celluloid was an early advocate of hip hop, producing albums by Fab 5 Freddy, GrandMixer D.ST, Phase II, and Afrika Bambaataa. The album World Destruction paired John Lydon with Afrika Bambaataa years before Aerosmith and Run–D.M.C. collaborated on their rock/hip hop version of "Walk This Way".

In 1982, Laswell released Baselines, his solo debut album. A year later, he had a breakthrough with "Rockit", a song he co-wrote and produced for Herbie Hancock's album Future Shock. He played bass guitar and co-wrote other songs on the album, leading to collaborations with Hancock through the 2000s. He won a Grammy Award for producing Hancock's next album, Sound-System.

He became a member of the band Last Exit in 1986 with Peter Brötzmann, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Sonny Sharrock. Aside from one album that Laswell cobbled together in the studio, the band was primarily a live one, showing up at gigs with no rehearsal. The first time the four members played together was on stage at their first show.

Laswell produced albums for Sly and Robbie, Mick Jagger, PiL, Motörhead, Ramones, Stevie Salas, Iggy Pop and Yoko Ono. Many of these bands afforded Laswell the opportunity to hire his working crew to record on more mainstream records. Sly and Robbie hired him to produce their 1985 album Language Barrier and 1987 album Rhythm Killers.

Running Axiom
Island Records founder Chris Blackwell gave him the opportunity to begin a label in 1990, thus forming Axiom Records. In addition to albums by Material that included Sly and Robbie, William S. Burroughs, Bootsy Collins, Wayne Shorter, and Bernie Worrell, he produced and released albums by Ginger Baker, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Sonny Sharrock, Nicky Skopelitis, and Umar Bin Hassan. Among the studio-based albums, Palestinian oud and violinist Simon Shaheen recorded an album of music by Egyptian composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Gambian virtuoso Foday Musa Suso recorded an album of dance music with his electric Kora, and Turkish saz master Talip Oezkan recorded an album. Master Musicians of Jajouka recorded an album in their village in the Rif Mountains. There were albums by Mandinka and Fulani recorded at Suso's family compound in Gambia and Gnawa music from Morocco.

Praxis featured guitarist Buckethead on Transmutation with Bootsy Collins, Bryan Mantia, Bernie Worrell, and Afrika Baby Bam from the Jungle Brothers. The album blended funk grooves and heavy metal riffs with many tracks co-written by Laswell.

Funkcronomicon included previously released tracks by Praxis and Skopelitis and tracks with members of Parliament-Funkadelic. George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, and the last recordings of Eddie Hazel are featured prominently. The album includes DXT, Umar Bin Hassan, Abiodun Oyewole and Torture. Laswell remixed the Axiom catalog for Axiom Ambient, blending seemingly disparate tracks, releasing some of the music for Sample Material – International Free Zone, a sample library for other musicians to use as material.

Other labels
Subharmonic, conceived by Laswell and ex-Celluloid A&R Robert Soares, though not owned by Laswell, was essentially a vehicle for his projects, most in the ambient or ambient-dub categories. The label licensed a few releases from European labels for American re-release, notably Psychonavigation with Pete Namlook and Cymatic Scan with Tetsu Inoue from Pete Namlook's FAX label; Somnific Flux with Mick Harris and Cold Summer by Lull from the Sentrax label. Other collaborators included Jonah Sharp and Terre Thaemlitz. The label also released albums by Painkiller, Praxis, and Divination, an ambient dub project by Laswell. A sub-label called Strata was created with five releases in a more experimental dub/noise/ambient vein. Each of these releases (Death Cube K, Cypher 7, Azonic, and two under his alias Automaton) came in a black jewel case with the name of the project and album title printed on the front.

Three other short-lived labels were created after the demise of the Subharmonic deal. One was Meta, which was intended to be a spoken word label. The second label, Submeta, managed four releases before folding. Meta, formed with Janet Rienstra, released only one album, Baptism of Solitude with novelist Paul Bowles reading excerpts from his work over soundscapes by Laswell. Meta would appear periodically, distributed by other labels, over the next few years until it returned as a spiritual/yogic label run by Rienstra. The third label, Black Arc, was an associated label of Rykodisc focusing on "Black Rock, Cyber Funk, and Future Blues", according to a sampler. The label featured members of P-Funk on most of the albums and released albums by Bootsy Collins (under the name "Zillatron"), Bernie Worrell (Japan-only), Mutiny (Jerome Brailey), and Billy Bass.

Charged (1999) by Eraldo Bernocchi and Toshinori Kondo was released by Laswell's label Innerythmic. After a brief inactive period, the label restarted in 2001, releasing over the next few years and albums by Nicky Skopelitis, Raoul Björkenheim, James Blood Ulmer, Shin Terai, and Gonervill. Innerhythmic also released a live recording by Praxis and reissued Black Arc albums from the 1990, including Zillatron, The Last Poets' Holy Terror and Buddy Miles' Hell & Back.

Laswell moved his studio to West Orange, New Jersey and called it Orange Music Sound Studios. Under Palm's umbrella, though, four albums and a DVD set were released, including a studio album and a live 2-disc set from Tabla Beat Science centered on tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, son of Alla Rakha. The album included Karsh Kale, Trilok Gurtu, Ustad Sultan Khan, and Talvin Singh. This group has performed in the US, Lebanon, and Japan. Laswell, Kale, Kahn, and Hussain are usually supplemented by other musicians, which have included Gigi, DJ Disk, Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Sussan Deyhim, and artist Petulia Mattioli. In 2001 Life Space Death was released with Japanese trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, Laswell on bass, guitar, and keyboards, and words by the 14th Dalai Lama interviewed by Kondo. At the request of Blackwell, Laswell oversaw the debut album by Ethiopian singer Gigi for Palm Pictures with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Laswell. He also produced Abyssinia Infinite and Gold & Wax.

Laswell has stated in interviews that he met with Miles Davis a number of times and discussed working together, but busy schedules kept them from arranging such a recording before Davis' death. He remixed some of Davis's music for Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 (Axiom, 1998).

New century, new labels
He signed a contract with Sanctuary Records that led to the creation of his label Nagual. He worked in the drum and bass genre, starting with Brutal Calling credited to Bill Laswell vs. Submerged that was released by Avant in 2004. He and Submerged worked together again on The Only Way to Go is Down (2006) under the name Method of Defiance. After this album, they assembled producers in drum and bass to collaborate with musicians from jazz. Evol Intent, Future Prophecies, and SPL recorded with Buckethead, Herbie Hancock, and Pharoah Sanders.

In 2010, Laswell created the label M.O.D. Technologies. Its first releases were the albums Jahbulon and Incunabula by Method of Defiance and Mesgana Ethiopia by Material with Gigi.

Along with live dates around the world with Massacre, Material, Method of Defiance, and Painkiller, Laswell travels to Japan every year for recordings and live dates, including with Tokyo Rotation.

In September 2017, Bill Laswell was interviewed by the Data.Wave webzine.

In November 2018, he performed in Dave Douglas Uplift band at the London Jazz Festival.

Laswell suffered health problems which required hospitalization in December 2022 and prolonged recovery, which jeopardized his tenure of Orange Music Studio.

Collaborators
Laswell works frequently with a small group of collaborators. These include bassists Jah Wobble, Josh Werner, Jonas Hellborg, and Bootsy Collins; guitarists Buckethead and Nicky Skopelitis; keyboardists Jeff Bova and Bernie Worrell; percussionists Aïyb Dieng and Karsh Kale, and musicians from P-Funk. Robert Musso has been his chief engineer for over twenty years. Oz Fritz has occasionally filled the role. Fritz is usually Laswell's live engineer of choice, known for live mixing technique. Remixes have been done for Sting, Nine Inch Nails, Almamegretta, Scorn, Ozzy Osbourne, and Tori Amos. He has done much work for John Zorn's Tzadik Records.

In 2005, Laswell was invited to appear on the PBS series Soundstage. The show featured musicians he has played with over the years, including members of Praxis and Tabla Beat Science, Pharoah Sanders, Foday Musa Suso, Bootsy Collins, and Catfish Collins.

Laswell worked with Sony Creative Software on a box set loop library called The Bill Laswell Collection.

He has also worked with Eraldo Bernocchi and Mick Harris on a project called Equations of Eternity, which is an ambient music project started in 1995 by Eraldo. Since its members live in separate parts of the world (Mick Harris in England; Bill Laswell in the US; and Eraldo Bernocchi in Italy), the project has been predominantly studio-based, with its members recording music in their respective countries.

title: Bill Laswell


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Green tea

Green tea is a type of tea that is made from Camellia sinensis leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since then its production and manufacture has spread to other countries in East Asia.

Several varieties of green tea exist, which differ substantially based on the variety of C. sinensis used, growing conditions, horticultural methods, production processing, and time of harvest.

History

Tea consumption has its legendary origins in China during the reign of mythological Emperor Shennong.

A book written by Lu Yu in 618–907 AD (Tang dynasty), The Classic of Tea, is considered important in green tea history. The Kissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記 Book of Tea, lit. Record [of] Drinking Tea [for] Nourishing Life), written by Zen priest Eisai in 1211, describes how drinking green tea may affect five vital organs, the shapes of tea plants, flowers and leaves, and how to grow and process tea leaves.

Steeping, brewing and serving
Steeping, or brewing, is the process of making tea from leaves and hot water, generally using 2 g of tea per 100 mL of water or about 1 teaspoon of green tea per 150 ml cup. Steeping temperatures range from 61 C to 87 C and steeping times from 30 seconds to three minutes.

Generally, lower-quality green teas are steeped hotter and longer while higher-quality teas are steeped cooler and shorter, but usually multiple times (2–3 typically). Higher-quality teas like gyokuro use more tea leaves and are steeped multiple times for short durations. Steeping too hot or too long results in the release of excessive amounts of tannins, leading to a bitter, astringent brew, regardless of initial quality. The brew's taste is also affected by the steeping technique; two important techniques are to warm the steeping container beforehand to prevent the tea from immediately cooling down, and to leave the tea leaves in the pot and gradually add more hot water during consumption.

Extracts
Polyphenols found in green tea include epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin gallate, epicatechins and flavanols, which are under laboratory research for their potential effects in vivo. Other components include three kinds of flavonoids, known as kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. Although the mean content of flavonoids and catechins in a cup of green tea is higher than that in the same volume of other food and drink items that are traditionally considered to promote health, flavonoids and catechins have no proven biological effect in humans.

Green tea leaves are initially processed by soaking in an alcohol solution, which may be further concentrated to various levels; byproducts of the process are also packaged and used. Extracts are sold over the counter in liquid, powder, capsule, and tablet forms, and may contain up to 17.4% of their total weight in caffeine, though decaffeinated versions are also available.

Green tea extract is usable as a clean label food preservative, protecting fats from rancidity. The oil-soluble form used is palmitoylated green tea catechins, ruled generally recognized as safe in 2020.

Health effects
Regular green tea is 99.9% water, provides 1 kcal per 100 mL serving, is devoid of significant nutrient content (table), and contains phytochemicals such as polyphenols and caffeine.

Numerous claims have been made for the health benefits of green tea, but human clinical research has not found good evidence of benefit. In 2011, a panel of scientists published a report on the claims for health effects at the request of the European Commission: in general they found that the claims made for green tea were not supported by sufficient scientific evidence. Although green tea may enhance mental alertness due to its caffeine content, there is only weak, inconclusive evidence that regular consumption of green tea affects the risk of cancer or cardiovascular diseases, and there is no evidence that it benefits weight loss.

In some cases of excessive consumption, green tea extract is hepatotoxic with evidence of liver damage. A 2020 review by the Cochrane Collaboration listed some potential adverse effects of green tea extract including gastrointestinal disorders, higher levels of liver enzymes, and, more rarely, insomnia, raised blood pressure, and skin reactions.

Cancer
Cancer Council Australia and Cancer Research UK have stated that there is not enough reliable evidence that green tea can prevent cancer. The National Cancer Institute have noted that "the evidence regarding the potential benefits of tea consumption in relation to cancer is inconclusive at present".

Green tea interferes with the chemotherapy drug bortezomib (Velcade) and other boronic acid-based proteasome inhibitors, and should be avoided by people taking these medications.

Cardiovascular disease
A meta-analysis of observational studies reported an increase in one cup of green tea per day was correlated with slightly lower risk of death from cardiovascular causes. Green tea consumption may be correlated with a reduced risk of stroke. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials found that green tea consumption for 3–6 months may produce small reductions (about 2–3 mm Hg each) in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. A separate systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that consumption of 5–6 cups of green tea per day was associated with a small reduction in systolic blood pressure (2 mmHg), but did not lead to a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure.

Glycemic control
Green tea consumption lowers fasting blood sugar but in clinical studies the beverage's effect on haemoglobin A1c and fasting insulin levels was inconsistent.

Hyperlipidemia
Drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements decreases the blood concentration of total cholesterol (about 3–7 mg/dL), LDL cholesterol (about 2 mg/dL), and does not affect the concentration of HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. A 2013 Cochrane meta-analysis of longer-term randomized controlled trials (>3 months duration) concluded that green tea consumption lowers total and LDL cholesterol concentrations in the blood.

Inflammation
A 2015 systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials found that green tea consumption was not significantly associated with lower plasma levels of C-reactive protein levels (a marker of inflammation).

Weight loss
There is no good evidence that green tea aids in weight loss or weight maintenance.

Potential for liver toxicity
Excessive consumption of green tea extract has been associated with hepatotoxicity and liver failure. In 2018, a scientific panel for the European Food Safety Authority reviewed the safety of green tea consumption over a low-moderate range of daily EGCG intake from 90 to 300 mg per day, and with exposure from high green tea consumption estimated to supply up to 866 mg EGCG per day. Dietary supplements containing EGCG may supply up to 1000 mg EGCG and other catechins per day. The panel concluded that EGCG and other catechins from green tea in low-moderate daily amounts are generally regarded as safe, but in some cases of excessive consumption of green tea or use of high-EGCG supplements, liver toxicity may occur.

Production
In 2013, global production of green tea was approximately 1.7 million tonnes, with a forecast to double in volume by 2023. As of 2015, China provided 80% of the world's green tea market, leading to its green tea exports rising by 9% annually, while exporting 325,000 tonnes in 2015. In 2015, the US was the largest importer of Chinese green tea (6,800 tonnes), an increase of 10% over 2014, and Britain imported 1,900 tonnes, 15% more than in 2014.

Growing, harvesting and processing
Green tea is processed and grown in a variety of ways, depending on the type of green tea desired. As a result of these methods, maximum amounts of polyphenols and volatile organic compounds are retained, affecting aroma and taste. The growing conditions can be broken down into two basic types − those grown in the sun and those grown under the shade. The green tea plants are grown in rows that are pruned to produce shoots in a regular manner, and in general are harvested three times per year. The first flush takes place in late April to early May. The second harvest usually takes place from June through July, and the third picking takes place in late July to early August. Sometimes, there will also be a fourth harvest. The first flush in the spring brings the best-quality leaves, with higher prices to match.

Green tea is processed after picking using either artisanal or modern methods. Sun-drying, basket or charcoal firing, or pan-firing are common artisanal methods. Oven-drying, tumbling, or steaming are common modern methods. Processed green teas, known as aracha, are stored under low humidity refrigeration in 30- or 60-kilogram paper bags at 0 - 5 C. This aracha has yet to be refined at this stage, with a final firing taking place before blending, selection and packaging take place. The leaves in this state will be re-fired throughout the year as they are needed, giving the green teas a longer shelf-life and better flavour. The first flush tea of May will readily store in this fashion until the next year's harvest. After this re-drying process, each crude tea will be sifted and graded according to size. Finally, each lot will be blended according to the blending order by the tasters and packed for sale.

Import of radioactive Japanese tea
On 17 June 2011, at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, radioactive caesium of 1,038 becquerels per kilogram was measured in tea leaves imported from Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 11 March, which was more than twice the restricted amount in the European Union of 500 becquerels per kilogram. The government of France announced that they rejected the leaves, which totalled 162 kg.

In response, the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, Heita Kawakatsu, stated: "there is absolutely no problem when they [people] drink them because it will be diluted to about 10 becquerels per kilogram when they steep them even if the leaves have 1,000 becquerels per kilogram;" a statement backed by tests done in Shizuoka. Japanese Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Renhō stated on 3 June 2011 that "there are cases in which aracha [whole leaves of Japanese green tea] are sold as furikake [condiments sprinkled on rice] and so on and they are eaten as they are, therefore we think that it is important to inspect tea leaves including aracha from the viewpoint of consumers' safety."

In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration updated its import status on Japanese products deemed to be contaminated by radionuclides, indicating that tea from the Ibaraki prefecture had been removed from the list by the Government of Japan in 2015.

Mainland China and Taiwan
Loose leaf green tea has been the most popular form of tea in China since at least the Southern Song dynasty. While Chinese green tea was originally steamed, as it still is in Japan, after the early Ming dynasty it has typically been processed by being pan-fired in a dry wok. Other processes employed in China today include oven-firing, basket-firing, tumble-drying and sun-drying. Green tea is the most widely produced form of tea in China, with 1.42 million tons grown in 2014.

Popular green teas produced in China today include:
 * Biluochun (碧螺春) Produced in Jiangsu, this tea is named after the shape of the leaves, which are curled like snails.
 * Chun Mee (珍眉) Known in English by its Cantonese name, and popular outside China. It has a plum-like flavour.
 * Zhū chá (珠茶) "Pearl tea", also called Gunpowder tea, is a form of tea which is tumble-dried so that each leaf is rolled into a small pellet that resembles gunpowder.
 * Huangshan Maofeng (黄山毛峰) A type of maofeng tea grown in the microclimate of the Huangshan mountain range in Anhui province. Maofeng teas are harvested by plucking intact two equal-sized leaves and a bud together.
 * Longjing (龍井茶) Also known as "Dragon Well" tea, the English translation of its name. Grown near Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Longjing is the most well-known pan-fired Chinese green tea. Its flavour derives partly from the terroir of the region in which it is produced.
 * Lu'an Melon Seed (六安瓜片) Grown in Anhui province. Unlike typical Chinese teas, two leaves are plucked separately from each branch, with no bud and no stems. Harvested later in the season, it has a grassier flavour than typical Chinese green teas.
 * Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁) Grown in Anhui province. Uses a cultivar with an unusually large leaf. The production process flattens the tea leaves, creating the so-called "two knives and a pole" shape from the leaves and stem.
 * Xinyang Maojian (信陽毛尖) A type of maojian tea grown in Xinyang, Henan province. Maojian teas are harvested by plucking a bud and one leaf together.

Japan
Tea seeds were first brought to Japan in the early 9th century by the Buddhist monks Saicho and Kūkai. During the Heian period (794–1185), Emperor Saga introduced the practice of drinking tea to the imperial family. The Zen Buddhist priest Eisai (1141–1215), founder of the Rinzai school of Buddhism, brought tea seeds from China to plant in various places in Japan. Eisai advocated that all people, not just Buddhist monks and the elite, drink tea for its health benefits.

The oldest tea-producing region in Japan is Uji, located near the former capital of Kyoto. It is thought that seeds sent by Eisai were planted in Uji, becoming the basis of the tea industry there. Today, Japan's most expensive premium teas are still grown in Uji. The largest tea-producing area today is Shizuoka Prefecture, which accounts for 40% of total Japanese sencha production. Other major tea-producing regions include the island of Kyushu and the prefectures of Shiga, Gifu, and Saitama in central Honshu.

All commercial tea produced in Japan today is green tea, though for a brief period black tea was also produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Japanese tea production is heavily mechanized, and is characterized by the use of modern technology and processes to improve yields and reduce labour. Because of the high cost of labour in Japan, only the highest quality teas are plucked and processed by hand in the traditional fashion.

Japanese green teas have a thin, needle-like shape and a rich, dark green colour. Unlike Chinese teas, most Japanese teas are produced by steaming rather than pan-firing. This produces their characteristic colour, and creates a sweeter, more grassy flavour. A mechanical rolling/drying process then dries the tea leaves into their final shape. The liquor of steamed Japanese tea tends to be cloudy due to the higher quantity of dissolved solids.

Most Japanese teas are blended from leaves grown in different regions, with less emphasis on terroir than in the Chinese market. Because of the limited quantity of tea that can be produced in Japan, the majority of production is dedicated to the premium tea market. Cheaper bottled teas and tea-flavoured food products usually use lower-grade Japanese-style tea produced in China.

Although a variety of commercial tea cultivars exist in Japan, the vast majority of Japanese tea is produced using the Yabukita cultivar developed in the 1950s.

Popular Japanese green teas include:
 * Bancha (番茶) A lower-grade tea plucked from the same bushes used to produce sencha. It has a somewhat bolder flavour, and is plucked each season after sencha production is finished.
 * Genmaicha (玄米茶) Made by combining sencha tea leaves with toasted puffs of rice.
 * Gyokuro (玉露) Grown under shade for three weeks prior to plucking, gyokuro is one of the most exclusive varieties of tea produced in Japan. The shading technique imparts a sweeter flavour, and produces a particularly rich colour thanks to the higher amounts of chlorophyll in the shaded leaf. Gyokuro tea is associated with the Uji region, the first tea-growing region in Japan. It is often made using smaller-leaf cultivars of the tea plant.
 * Hōjicha (焙じ茶) This type of tea is made by roasting sencha or bancha leaves with kukicha twigs.
 * Kabusecha (かぶせ茶) Similar to gyokuro, kabusecha is shaded for only a week prior to plucking. Its flavour is somewhat between that of gyokuro and normal sencha.
 * Kukicha (茎茶) A blended tea made of sencha leaves and stems.
 * Matcha (抹茶) Like gyokuro, matcha is shaded before plucking. The plucked and processed leaf is called tencha. This product is then ground into a fine powder, which is matcha. Because the tea powder is very perishable, matcha is usually sold in small quantities. It is typically rather expensive. Matcha is the type of tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. It is prepared by whisking the tea with hot water in a bowl, until the surface is frothy. If the water is too hot, the tea may become overly bitter.
 * Sencha (煎茶) This type of tea is produced throughout the tea season, and is the standard style today, representing 80% of all tea produced in Japan. 90% of sencha is grown from the Yabukita cultivar.
 * Shincha (新茶) The first early harvest of tea, plucked before the first flush, is called shincha. Shincha is made from the youngest new growth leaves, and is plucked from early April to early May. Shincha typically refers to the early harvest of sencha, but can refer to any type of tea plucked early in the season, before the main harvest. Because of the limited quantities in which it is produced, shincha is highly prized and expensive to obtain.

Korea

According to Record of Gaya cited in Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, the legendary queen Heo Hwang-ok, a princess of the Ayodhya married to King Suro of Gaya, brought the tea plant from India and planted it in Baegwolsan, a mountain in current Changwon. However, it is a widely held view that systematic planting of tea bushes began with the introduction of Chinese tea culture by the Buddhist monks around the 4th century. Amongst some of the earliest Buddhist temples in Korea, Bulgapsa (founded in 384, in Yeonggwang), Bulhoesa (founded in 384, in Naju) and Hwaeomsa (founded in Gurye, in 544) claim to be the birthplace of Korean tea culture. Green tea was commonly offered to Buddha, as well as to the spirits of deceased ancestors. Tea culture continued to prosper during the Goryeo dynasty, with the tea offering being a part of the biggest national ceremonies and tea towns were formed around temples. Seon-Buddhist manners of ceremony prevailed. During the Joseon dynasty, however, Korean tea culture underwent secularization, along with the Korean culture itself. Korean ancestral rite jesa, also referred to as charye (, "tea rite"), has its origin in darye (, "tea rite"), the practice of offering tea as simple ancestral rites by the royal family and the aristocracy in Joseon.

Tea culture of Korea was actively suppressed by the Japanese during the Japanese forced occupation period (1910‒1945), and the subsequent Korean War (1950‒1953) made it even harder for the Korean tea tradition to survive. The restoration of the Korean way of tea began in the 1970s, around Dasolsa. Commercial production of green tea in South Korea only began in the 1970s,. By 2012 the industry was producing 20% as much tea as Taiwan and 3.5% as much as Japan. Green tea is not as popular as coffee or other types of Korean teas in modern South Korea. The annual consumption per capita of green tea in South Korea in 2016 was 0.16 kg, compared to 3.9 kg coffee. Recently however, as the coffee market reached saturation point, South Korean tea production doubled during 2010‒2014, as did tea imports during 2009–2015, despite very high tariff rate (513.6% for green tea, compared to 40% for black tea, 8% for processed/roasted coffee, and 2% for raw coffee beans).

Korean green tea can be classified into various types based on several different factors. The most common is the flush, or the time of the year when the leaves are plucked (and thus also by leaf size). Ujeon, or cheonmul-cha , is made of hand-picked leaves plucked before gogu (20–21 April). The ideal steeping temperature for ujeon tea is 50 C. Sejak, or dumul-cha , is made of hand-picked leaves plucked after gogu (20–21 April) but before ipha (5–6 May). The tea is also called jakseol as the tea leaves are plucked when they are about the size of a sparrow's tongue. The ideal steeping temperature for sejak tea is 60-70 C. Jungjak, or semul-cha , is made of leaves plucked after ipha (5–6 May) until the mid May. The ideal steeping temperature for jungjak tea is 70-80 C. Daejak, or kkeunmul-cha , is made of tea leaves plucked in late May and after. It is usually made into tea bags or used in cooking. The ideal steeping temperature for daejak tea is 80-90 C.
 * Ujeon
 * Sejak
 * Jungjak
 * Daejak

The mode of preparation also differs: The synonyms ipcha and yeopcha  refer to loose leaf tea, often in contrast to tea in tea bags. As the words mean "leaf tea", they can also be used in contrast to powdered tea. The synonyms garucha and malcha  refer to powdered tea.
 * Ipcha (yeopcha)
 * Garucha (malcha)

Leaf teas are processed either by roasting or steaming. Roasting is the most common and traditional way of tea processing in Korea. Also translated into "pan-fried tea", the deokkeum-cha or bucho-cha  varieties are richer in flavour. Steaming is less popular in Korean green tea processing, but the method is still used in temple cuisine. Tea prepared with steamed tea leaves, called jeungje-cha, are more vivid in colour.
 * Deokkeum-cha (bucho-cha)
 * Jeungje-cha

Southern, warmer regions such as Boseong in South Jeolla Province, Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province, and Jeju Island are famous for producing high-quality tea leaves. Banya-cha is one of the most renowned Korean green teas. This steamed tea is developed by Buddhist monks in Boseong. The tea is grown on sandy loam near mountains and sea. The word banya is a Korean transliteration of the Buddhist concept prajñā. Jungno-cha is one of the most renowned Korean green teas. The roasted variety of tea is made of tea leaves grown among the bamboo in Gimhae, Hadong, and Jinju in South Gyeongsang Province. Green tea can be blended with other ingredients. Nokcha (green tea) blended with hyeonmi-cha (brown rice tea) is called hyeonmi-nokcha. Nokcha (green tea) blended with lemon is called remon-nokcha .\
 * Banya-cha
 * Jungno-cha
 * Hyeonmi-nokcha
 * Remon-nokcha

Vietnam
Green tea is the most popular tea among the Vietnamese people. In 2011, it accounted for over 63% of overall retail volume sales. Vietnamese tea culture is ancient, but large scale cultivation was introduced in the late 19th century by French colonists who ran the first plantations in the Phú Thọ area.

Though less well known than Japanese and Chinese green teas, there are various types of Vietnamese green tea and various cultivars. They have recently entered the international market, usually at lower prices. Vietnam is fifth in the world for tea production today.

There is a long tradition of growing and processing green tea in the Thái Nguyên area, north of Hanoi, which has been called the "cradle" of Vietnamese tea. This region is now known for its green tea, which is shipped internationally.

There are also many scented varieties of Vietnamese green tea, most of which are scented with a certain flower petals. These include:

 * Lotus tea (trà sen), scented with Lotus flowers, sometimes the petals will be mixed into the tea leaves.
 * Jasmine tea (trà lài), scented with jasmine
 * Chrysanthemum tea (trà cúc)
 * Aglaia tea (trà ngâu, tea infused with the flower from the Aglaia duperreana plant)
 * Trà sói, tea infused with the flower from the Chloranthaceae family.
 * Trà sâm dứa, made from a herbal mix of green tea, jasmine, Aglaia duperreana flower, basil and pandan leaves.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Green tea


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Flanging

Flanging  is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resulting frequency spectrum, related to each other in a linear harmonic series. Varying the time delay causes these to sweep up and down the frequency spectrum. A flanger is an effects unit that creates this effect.

Part of the output signal is usually fed back to the input (a re-circulating delay line), producing a resonance effect that further enhances the intensity of the peaks and troughs. The phase of the fed-back signal is sometimes inverted, producing another variation on the flanger sound.

Origin
As an audio effect, a listener hears a drainpipe or swoosh or jet plane sweeping effect as shifting sum-and-difference harmonics are created analogous to use of a variable notch filter. The term "flanging" comes from one of the early methods of producing the effect. The finished music track is recorded simultaneously to two matching tape machines, then replayed with both decks in sync. The output from the two recorders is mixed to a third recorder. The engineer slows down one playback recorder by lightly pressing a finger on the flange (rim) of the supply reel. The drainpipe or subtle swoosh effect sweeps in one direction, and the playback of that recorder remains slightly behind the other when the finger is removed. By pressing a finger on the flange of the other deck, the effect sweeps back in the other direction as the decks progress towards being in sync. The Beatles' producer George Martin disputed this reel flange source, attributing the term to himself and John Lennon instead.

Despite claims over who originated flanging, Les Paul discovered the effect in the late 1940s and 1950s; however, he did most of his early phasing experiments with acetate disks on variable-speed record players. On "Mammy's Boogie" (1952) he used two disk recorders, one with a variable speed control. The first hit song with a very discernible flanging effect was "The Big Hurt" (1959) by Toni Fisher.

Further development of the classic effect is attributed to Ken Townsend, an engineer at EMI's Abbey Road Studio, who devised a process in the spring of 1966. Tired of laboriously re-recording dual vocal tracks, John Lennon asked Townsend if there was some way for the Beatles to get the sound of double-tracked vocals without doing the work. Townsend devised artificial double tracking (ADT). According to historian Mark Lewisohn, it was Lennon who first called the technique "flanging". Lennon asked George Martin to explain how ADT worked, and Martin answered with the nonsense explanation "Now listen, it's very simple. We take the original image and we split it through a double vibrocated sploshing flange with double negative feedback". Lennon thought Martin was joking. Martin replied, "Well, let's flange it again and see". From that point, when Lennon wanted ADT he would ask for his voice to be flanged, or call out for "Ken's flanger". According to Lewisohn, the Beatles' influence meant the term "flanging" is still in use today, more than 50 years later. The first Beatles track to feature flanging was "Tomorrow Never Knows" from Revolver, recorded on 6 April 1966. When Revolver was released on 5 August 1966, almost every song had been subjected to flanging.

Others have attributed it to George Chkiantz, an engineer at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London. Another flanging instance on a rock-era pop recording occurs in the Small Faces' 1967 single "Itchycoo Park", recorded at Olympic and engineered by Chkiantz's colleague Glyn Johns.

The first stereo flanging is credited to producer Eddie Kramer, in the coda of Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love" (1967). Kramer said in the 1990s that he read BBC Radiophonic Workshop journals for ideas and circuit diagrams.

In 1968, the record producer for the Litter, Warren Kendrick, devised a method to precisely control flanging by placing two 15 ips (inches per second) stereo Ampex tape recorders side by side. The take-up reel of recorder A and supply reel of B were disabled, as were channel 2 of recorder A, channel 1 of recorder B and the erase head of recorder B. The tape was fed left-to-right across both recorders and an identical signal was recorded on each channel of the tape, but displaced by approximately 18 inches along the length of the tape. During recording, an ordinary screwdriver was wedged between the recorders to make the tape run "uphill" and "downhill." The same configuration was employed during the playback/mixdown to a third recorder. The screwdriver was moved back and forth to cause the two signals to diverge, then converge. The latter technique permits zero point flanging; i.e., the lagging signal crosses over the leading signal and the signals change places.

A similar "jet plane-like" effect can occur naturally in long distance shortwave radio music broadcasts. In this case the delays are caused by variable radio wave propagation time and multipath radio interference.

Artificial flanging
In the 1970s, advances in solid-state electronics made flanging possible using integrated circuit technology. Solid-state flanging devices fall into two categories: analog and digital. The Eventide Instant Flanger from 1975 is an early example of a studio device that was able to successfully simulate tape flanging using bucket-brigades to create the audio delay. The flanging effect in most newer digital flangers relies on DSP technology. Flanging can also be accomplished using computer software.

The original tape-flanging effect sounds a little different from electronic and software recreations. Not only is the tape-flanging signal time-delayed, but response characteristics at different frequencies of the tape and tape heads introduced phase shifts into the signals as well. Thus, while the peaks and troughs of the comb filter are more or less in a linear harmonic series, there is a significant non-linear behaviour too, causing the timbre of tape-flanging to sound more like a combination of what came to be known as flanging and phasing.

"Barber pole" flanging
Also known as "infinite flanging", this sonic illusion is similar to the Shepard tone effect, and is equivalent to an auditory "barber pole". The sweep of the flanged sound seems to move in only one direction ("up" or "down") infinitely, instead of sweeping back-and-forth. While Shepard tones are created by generating a cascade of tones, fading in and out while sweeping the pitch either up or down, barber pole flanging uses a cascade of multiple delay lines, fading each one into the mix and fading it out as it sweeps to the delay time limit. The effect is available on various hardware and software effect systems.

Comparison with phase shifting
Flanging is one specific type of phase-shifting, or "phasing". In phasing, the signal is passed through one or more all-pass filters with non-linear phase response and then added back to the original signal. This results in constructive and destructive interference that varies with frequency, giving a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency response of the system. In general, the position of these peaks and troughs do not occur in a harmonic series.

In contrast, flanging relies on adding the signal to a uniform time-delayed copy of itself, which results in an output signal with peaks and troughs which are in a harmonic series. Extending the comb analogy, flanging yields a comb filter with regularly spaced teeth, whereas phasing results in a comb filter with irregularly spaced teeth.

In both phasing and flanging, the characteristics (phase response and time delay respectively) are generally varied in time, leading to an audible sweeping effect. To the ear, flanging and phasing sound similar, yet they are recognizable as distinct colorations. Commonly, flanging is referred to as having a "jet-plane-like" characteristic. In order for the comb filter effect to be audible, the spectral content of the program material must be full enough within the frequency range of this moving comb filter to reveal the filter's effect. It is more apparent when it is applied to material with a rich harmonic content, and is most obvious when applied to a white noise or similar noise signal. If the frequency response of this effect is plotted on a graph, the trace resembles a comb, and so is called a comb filter.

title: Flanging


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Audio effect

Audio effect may refer to:

 * Sound effect, a recorded or performed sound for a movie or play
 * Modification of sound produced by an effects unit

title: Audio effect


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Lotus position

Lotus position or Padmasana (पद्मासन) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha yoga, and is widely used for meditation in Hindu, Tantra, Jain, and Buddhist traditions.

Variations include easy pose (Sukhasana), half lotus, bound lotus, and psychic union pose. Advanced variations of several other asanas including yoga headstand have the legs in lotus or half lotus. The pose can be uncomfortable for people not used to sitting on the floor, and attempts to force the legs into position can injure the knees.

Shiva, the meditating ascetic God of Hinduism, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the Tirthankaras in Jainism have been depicted in the lotus position, especially in statues. The pose is emblematic both of Buddhist meditation and of yoga, and as such has found a place in Western culture as a symbol of healthy living and well-being.

Etymology and history

The name Padmasana is from the Sanskrit पद्म Padma, "lotus" and आसन, Āsana, "posture" or "seat". In Asian cultures, the sacred lotus is used as a symbol of growth towards perfection and enlightenment as it is rooted in the mud at the bottom of the pond, but rises and blooms above the water. In Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, the pose is also called the "vajra position" (Skt. vajrāsana, Ch. 金剛座 jīngāngzuò).

The pose is ancient and is described, along with other asanas (sitting postures), in the 8th century book Patanjalayogashastravivarana. A figure seated in lotus position on a lotus flower is shown on dinar coins of Chandragupta II, who reigned c. 380–c. 415 AD. The first tantric text to discuss posture (asana), the 6th-10th century Nisvasattvasamhita Nayasutra (4.11-17, 4.104-106), directs the meditator and "user of mantras" to sit in lotus or a similar posture. The 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that the pose destroys all diseases, and that a yogin in the pose who retains the air breathed in through the nadi channels attains liberation.

Sukhasana is from Sanskrit सुख sukha, meaning "pleasure" or "ease". The 19th century Sritattvanidhi describes and illustrates the pose. The name, and the more general name Yogasana ("Yoga pose") which may denote a variety of sitting poses, is found in much older documents as a meditation seat, such as in the 4th century Darshana Upanishad.

Position
From sitting cross-legged on the floor (Sukhasana), one foot is placed on top of the opposite thigh with its sole facing upward and heel close to the abdomen. The other foot is then placed on the opposite thigh as symmetrically as possible. The pose requires "very open hips". It can be modified using a support such as a cushion or blanket; by sitting on its forward edge, the pelvis is tilted forward.

Variations
Sukhasana (सुखासन), Easy Pose, has the legs simply crossed in front of the body.

In half lotus, अर्ध पद्मासन (Ardha Padmasana), one leg is bent and resting on the ground, the other leg is bent with the foot in lotus position. It is an easier meditation position than full lotus.

In bound lotus, बद्ध पद्मासन (Baddha Padmasana), the practitioner sits in full lotus, and each hand reaches around the back to grasp the opposite foot.

For psychic union pose, यओगमुद्रासन (Yogamudrasana), the practitioner bends forward in full lotus, bringing the forehead as close to the floor as possible. The pose is both an asana and a mudra; easier variants begin from Ardha Padmasana.

Variations of several other asanas such as Sirsasana (yoga headstand), Sarvangasana (shoulderstand), Simhasana (lion pose), Matsyasana (fish pose), and Gorakshasana (cowherd pose) have the legs in lotus. Asanas such as Vatayanasana (horse pose) and advanced forms of Ardha Matsyendrasana (half lord of the fishes pose) have one leg as in half lotus.

Effects
Lotus is one of the yoga poses that most commonly causes injury. Attempts to force the legs into lotus pose can injure the knees by squeezing and damaging the medial meniscus cartilage; this is painful and takes a long time to heal. The hip joints must rotate outwards approximately 115 degrees to permit full lotus. Students who cannot achieve this much hip rotation may try to compensate by bending the knee joint sideways, risking injury. Rather than bending the knee, the thighs can be encouraged to rotate outwards (using hand pressure or a strap).

The yoga guru B. K. S. Iyengar notes that people unused to sitting on the floor will initially feel "excruciating" pain in the knees, but that this subsides with practice, until the pose becomes relaxing, both restful and alert and hence ideal for pranayama.

Twentieth century advocates of some schools of yoga, such as Iyengar, made claims for the effects of yoga on specific organs, without adducing any evidence. Iyengar claimed that Padmasana encourages blood circulation in the abdomen and lumbar region, toning the spine and abdominal organs.

Asian art
In Buddhism, statues of the founder, Gautama Buddha, sometimes depict him seated in lotus position and enthroned on a lotus flower. In Hinduism, statues often depict gods, especially Shiva, meditating in Padmasana. In Bali, a Padmasana is also a type of Hindu shrine, named for the posture. In Jainism, seated Tirthankaras are represented in Lotus posture.

Western culture
The scholar of religion Thomas Tweed wrote in 2008 that "the prevailing image of Buddhist practice has been the solitary meditator, eyes half closed, sitting in the lotus position." Ian Fleming's 1964 novel You Only Live Twice has the action hero James Bond visiting Japan, where he "assiduously practised sitting in the lotus position." The critic Lisa M. Dresner notes that Bond is mirroring Fleming's own struggles with the pose. The BBC journalist Megan Lane commented in 2003 that since yoga as exercise had become mainstream, lotus position (like tree pose) had been used by advertisers to sell "all manner of goods and services." She noted that both "healthy living" goods such as vitamins, fitness clubs, water filter and probiotic yogurt, and unrelated items such as cars, airlines, financial services "and even beer" have made use of images of yoga to convey a message of well-being. Poland's Obory Dairy gave its advertising agency the goal of creating awareness of their "Jogi" yogurt as exclusive and with a positive image. The agency responded with a photograph of two young women meditating in lotus pose at dawn under the heading "Start your day with Jogi", the brand name also meaning "yoga" in Polish.

title: Lotus position


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Talk:Nachmanides

Expanding Universe
The Nahmanides quote about an expanding universe are not his words. They are Schroeder's words. The full context of the quote states that: "Nahmanides's account of the first seconds of the universe reads like this:". It doesn't seem that the page on Nahmanides should attribute a quote to him that he never said. Skinrider (talk) 03:31, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

Chavel's translation says nothing about mustard seeds or an expanding universe. Skinrider (talk) 04:11, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

Nahmanides
I do not understand this; "Shortly after his arrival in Jerusalem he addressed a letter to his son Nahman, in which he described the desolation of the Holy City..." The Sefardim do name after the living. Would he name his first son after himself? It would be our custom that he would name his first son after his fathers given name.Elsewhere I read that his oldest son was named Salomon. Respectfully, Benjamin Nahman

His name isn't Nahman, its Moshe ben Nahman. So the son, Nahman is named after his [the son's] grandfather...

This is also incorrect.I have traced our history,so far, to 365 bce., and the name Nahman was a family name and did not follow the practice of those who did not have one. Those who had no surname used the procedure you outline. Respectfully, Ben Nahman

of Gerondi
I think this is more correct. Since he lived in Spain, and ultimately left, for Israel, it is unlikely he adopted this last name pejorative. He is not even known by this name. It is more correct to say "of". I labeled this a minor edit. I think it is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dannyza1981 (talk • contribs) 22:57, 15 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Gerondi is not a pejorative. It just means that he lived in Girona. Gerondi already means "of Girona". It appears in many sources.
 * If you feel the need to explain an edit on the talk, then it is probably not minor. --Amir E. Aharoni (talk) 07:52, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

1. He is not known or called this title. 2. He is from Gerondi, not that his last name is Gerondi, and the current state gives the impression that his last name is Gerondi, not that he is from there.

The Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman of Gerona is more accurate. Dannyza1981 (talk) 00:00, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Ch, kh and h
How does this fit in with the current confusion over the entitled mistransliteration of the letters chaf and 'chet'' into English. While it might have been perfectly in order to have an "h" with a little dot under it to indicate the "h" sound as in "horse" is being made into a chet' or chaf'' sound, without this little dot, it comes out like "h" in "horse," which is totally inappropriate. His father's name was not Nahman as though it could be written Na'aman with an ayin, but Nachman. The article should be changed to "Nachmanidies."  DRosenbach  ( Talk 17:05, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Ramban's Grave
Rambanb may have been buried near Haifa, but he could not have been buried near R. Yehgiel of Paris as the latter never made it to the Land of Israel. This is borne out by a chronicle published by YM Ta Shma in Shalem V. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.166.133.8 (talk) 21:22, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Israel?
Did Israel exist in the 13th century? I, as a lay, was a little confused when I saw this term here. I think it should be more appropriate and clearer to write "Land of Israel", or the name of the city he died in, or simply Palestine. At least, no link to the modern day Israel estate's page should be added, but to that of Land of Israel,etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.39.21.13 (talk) 04:39, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

RfC at Yeshu
We could really use some thoughtful and well-informed comments here. Thanks. Slrubenstein  |  Talk 11:46, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Was Nahmanides a kabbalist? I think not.
How can Nahmanides have been a Kabbalist if the Zohar was not published till after he died? It seems to be a rather widespread assertion that Nahmanides was a "Kabbalist" or "Mystic" but I have never seen any proof from his writings or elsewhere that indeed he was one. Perhaps this is a case of "reinventing" history to match what later people believed about him. I seem to recall reading somewhere in his commentaries on the Torah that he wrote something to the effect of "... al pi sod" (according to secret or hidden) but that can hardly be termed Kabbalist! Anyone have more insights on this? Dstokar Template:Unsigned -->

1st of all the Holy Zohar was NOT & still is NOT the only book or teaching tradition of Kabbalah. In Morocco, Tunis & Yemen there are very old traditions of Kabbalah that have nothing to do with the Zohar. They are from teachings of teacher to student dating from generations of the eras of the "judges" & the prophets even before King David. Also long before the rediscovery & before the publishing of the Zohar, the Bahir, as basic & deep book of Kabbalah, was well known in circles of Kabbalist Rabbis.Until the publication of the Zohar, the Bahir, by Rabbi Nehunya of the Mishnaic era, was the most influential and widely quoted primary source of Kabbalistic teachings.

2nd - "... al pi sod" is always a referral to Kabbalistic understandings/teachings. In his commentaries on the Torah as well as other writings (e.g. Shaar Hagmul)anyone who truly knows Kabbalah will see many inclusions of it there. An example is his treatise on the proper conjugal relations, which along with Shulhhan Arukh (Codex of Jewish Law)& Musar (moral teachings) includes a good number of Kabbalistic inferences.

3rd though not published to the public eye, a good part of the teachings in the Zohar were passed down from teacher to student for centuries.

 * Yeah, I think the question is a mistake, equating Kabbalah with the Zohar. What we normally call Kabbalah is referred already in the 2nd perek of the Mishnah Chagigah, long before any of them. https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Chagigah.2.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en There were Kabbalist traditions among the Ashkenazi Jews before then, and probably all major groups of Jews. There is discussion here: Kabbalah. MikeR613 (talk) 16:46, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

online
Derashah http://www.hebrewbooks.org/44430 Vikuach http://www.hebrewbooks.org/22088 Emunah u-vitachon http://www.hebrewbooks.org/31352 Igeret http://www.hebrewbooks.org/36118 On Torah: https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%91%22%D7%9F_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90 100.15.120.162 (talk) 14:11, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

Kabbalist
Where is the evidence that the Ramban knew of and subscribed to Kabbalah? Dstokar (talk) 21:42, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Nachmanides


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Kung Fu Tea

Kung Fu Tea is an American bubble tea franchise headquartered in New York City. The company was founded in 2010.

In 2021, Kung Fu Tea was recorded among Nation's Restaurant News Top 500 Restaurant Chains.

Partnerships
Kung Fu Tea partnered with Funimation to distribute the anime Fruits Basket,. They also partnered with Nintendo and miHoYo's game Honkai Impact 3rd. They also collaborated with the games Pokémon Go in May 2023, Pikmin 4 in July 2023, and also Spirit Halloween in October 2023. The company also partnered with clothing company Opening Ceremony.

On November 30, 2018, the company partnered with Taiwan-based restaurant chain TKK Fried Chicken to open collaborative locations in the United States.

title: Kung Fu Tea


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Harlequin duck

The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor". In North America it is also known as lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak.

Taxonomy
In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the harlequin duck in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Dusky and Spotted Duck". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from Newfoundland in eastern Canada. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the harlequin duck with the ducks, geese and swans in the genus Anas. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas histrionica and cited Edwards' work. The harlequin duck is now the only species placed in the genus Histrionicus that was introduced in 1828 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The name histrionicus is from Latin and means "theatrical" or "like a harlequin" (histrio means "actor").

Two prehistoric harlequin ducks have been described from fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus: Histrionicus shotwelli is known from Middle to Late Miocene deposits of Oregon, United States and was considered to form a distinct monotypic genus, Ocyplonessa. Histrionicus ceruttii, which lived in California during the Late Pliocene, was at first taken to be a species of the related genus Melanitta. The species is traditionally considered monotypic. The Eastern and Western populations are sometimes recognized as two different subspecies, the Eastern race being the nominate H. histrionicus histrionicus, and the Western race as H. h. pacificus, but there has been doubt on the validity of this taxon.

Description
Adult breeding males have a colorful and complex plumage pattern. The head and neck are dark slate blue with a large white crescent marking in front of the eye that extends up to the crest, a small round dot behind the eye, and a larger oval spot down the side of the neck. A black crown stripe runs over the top of the head, with chestnut patches on either side. A black-bordered white collar separates the head from the breast. The body is largely a lighter slate blue with chestnut sides. A black-bordered white bar divides the breast vertically from the sides. The tail is black, long and pointed. The speculum is metallic blue. The inner secondary feathers are white and form white markings over the back when folded. The bill is blue-grey and the eye is reddish. Adult females are less colourful, with brownish-grey plumage with three white patches on the head: a round spot behind the eye, a larger patch from the eye to the bill and a small spot above the eye.

Distribution and habitat
Their breeding habitat is cold fast moving streams in north-western and north-eastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and eastern Russia. The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream. They are usually found near pounding surf and white water. They are short distance migrants and most winter near rocky shorelines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They are very rare migrants to western Europe.

The eastern North American population is declining and is considered endangered. Possible causes include loss of habitat due to hydroelectric projects and loss of life due to oil spills near coastal areas.

Behaviour
These birds feed by swimming under water or diving. They also dabble. They eat molluscs, crustaceans and insects. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives.

Breeding
Harlequin ducks adhere to a monogamous mating system, during their winter mating season will form multi-year pair bonds, though the males rarely participate in paternal care. Young ducks begin courtship in their first winter, females will find success by the second year, yet the males will rarely form a persistent bond before their fourth winter. Harlequin males will have an alternate plumage during this winter mating season.

Both female and male harlequins exercise mate choice preference and pair-bond defense, to demonstrate fidelity to their partner. Either partner is able to divorce the pair-bond to pursue a higher-quality option, however this behavior is uncommon.

title: Harlequin duck


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Tanya Grotter

Tanya Grotter (Таня Гроттер) is the protagonist of a Russian fantasy novel series by Dmitri Yemets. Tanya (short for Tatiana) Grotter is an orphan with intentional resemblances to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Despite its reputation in Russia and the many books it has spawned, the series is not available in English translation, because of the first book having been judged a breach of copyright.

Content
The central character and plot elements of the first novel, Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass, are a humorous parody of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but are transposed into a Russian setting. Tanya Grotter has an unusual birthmark on her nose, magical powers, an upbringing by "Lopukhoid" (equivalent to Muggle) relatives after her parents were killed by an evil sorceress Chuma-del-Tort (the official translation of Voldemort's name in Russian was 'Volan-de-Mort'), and goes to study at the Tibidokhs (Тибидохс) School for Behaviorally-Challenged Young Witches and Wizards. Tanya's foster-family, the Durnevs, live in an urban apartment block, and Tanya is forced to sleep not in a cupboard but in the apartment's loggia.

Yemets described the books as "a cultural reply" to the Potter series, and they feature allusion to Russian culture and folklore such as Baba Yaga, rusalki, witches on Bald Mountain and the works of Pushkin (for instance, Tibidox is on the island of Buyan mentioned in Pushkin's The Tale of Tsar Saltan).

After the first book, the plots diverge from those of the Harry Potter series. For instance, in Tanya Grotter and the Golden Leech, Tanya finds herself pitted against "Hurry Pooper" (a thinly disguised Harry Potter) in the World Dragonball Championship. While trying to reach the ball, they crash, creating a new timeline in which Chuma-del-Tort has won, good and evil being reversed, and all the characters are speaking a Russian equivalent of Orwellian Newspeak. To restore normality, Tanya must defeat the Golden Leech.

Legal history
While the series is legally published in Russia, it is not available in translation due to a lawsuit on behalf of J. K. Rowling and Time Warner. Having failed to obtain a cease and desist order in Russia, Rowling and Time Warner targeted publication in the Netherlands, where first translations of international editions are commonly published. In 2003, courts there prevented the distribution of a Dutch translation of the first in the series, Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass, after Rowling and Time Warner's lawyers issued a cease and desist order, arguing that the Grotter books violated copyright law, specifically infringing on Rowling's right to control derivative works. Yemets and his Moscow-based publishers, Eksmo, argued unsuccessfully that the book constituted a parody, permitted under copyright.

Later that year, as the Dutch translation Tanja Grotter en de magische contrabas was still legal in Belgium, the Flemish publishers Roularta Books decided to print 1,000 copies (and no more) in order to let people decide whether it was plagiarism, hoping that under those circumstances Rowling and her publishers would not sue.

Subsequent history
In 2003, after the first five books, the total circulation of Tanya Grotter books reached a million. As of 2006 the figure, including spinoffs, was approaching 3 million. In a 2006 interview, Yemets said that he had moved on to "urban absurd comic genre fantasy" with the Buslaev series, but that there was still reader demand, and sufficient material, for an 11th Tanya book. He described the Tanya Grotter series as a purely Russian phenomenon, dependent on the language and culture, and commented that he would not place much faith in Tanya living a full life if she were brought to the playing field of Europe or America.

In 2006, Yemets' books featured in the 10 best children's books 2006 in a reader's poll at the Pushkin Central Children's Library, Saint Petersburg. In July 2006, his Tanya Grotter and the Pearl Ring was the highest-selling children's book in Russia (his Methodius Buslaev: Vengeance of the Valkyries was #10, while JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ranked #2 and #6.

Titles
From the Tanya Grotter official site:

 * 1) Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass (Таня Гроттер и магический контрабас)
 * 2) Tanya Grotter and the Disappearing Floor (Таня Гроттер и исчезающий этаж)
 * 3) Tanya Grotter and the Golden Leech (Таня Гроттер и Золотая Пиявка)
 * 4) Tanya Grotter and the Throne of Drevnir (Таня Гроттер и трон Древнира)
 * 5) Tanya Grotter and the Pikestaff of the Magi (Таня Гроттер и посох волхвов)
 * 6) Tanya Grotter and the Hammer of Perun (Таня Гроттер и молот Перуна)
 * 7) Tanya Grotter and the Pince-nez of Noah (Таня Гроттер и пенсне Ноя)
 * 8) Tanya Grotter and the Boots of the Centaur (Таня Гроттер и ботинки кентавра)
 * 9) Tanya Grotter and the Well of Poseidon (Таня Гроттер и колодец Посейдона)
 * 10) Tanya Grotter and the Curl of Aphrodite (Таня Гроттер и локон Афродиты)
 * 11) Tanya Grotter and the Pearl Ring (Таня Гроттер и перстень с жемчужиной)
 * 12) Tanya Grotter and the Curse of the Necromage (Таня Гроттер и проклятье некромага)
 * 13) Tanya Grotter and the Garrulous Sphinx (Таня Гроттер и болтливый сфинкс)
 * 14) Tanya Grotter and the bird of Titans (Таня Гроттер и птица титанов)

Spinoff titles:

 * 1) Tanya Grotter and the Complete Tibidox! Phrases, Quotations and Aphorisms (Таня Гроттер и полный Тибидохс! Фразочки, цитатки и афоризмы)
 * 2) Worlds of Tanya Grotter (Миры Тани Гроттер) - a compilation of fan-written graphic novels

There are several other spin-offs from the Tanya Grotter series. The Methodius Buslaev (Мефодий Буслаев) series, featuring a young male magician, and the Hooligan fantasy (Хулиганское фэнтези) series:

 * 1) Methodius Buslaev. Magician of Midnight (Мефодий Буслаев. Маг полуночи)
 * 2) Methodius Buslaev. Roll of Desire (Мефодий Буслаев. Свиток желаний)
 * 3) Methodius Buslaev. Third Rider of the Gloom (Мефодий Буслаев. Третий всадник мрака)
 * 4) Methodius Buslaev. Ticket to the Bald Mountain (Мефодий Буслаев. Билет на лысую гору)
 * 5) Methodius Buslaev. Vengeance of the Valkyries (Мефодий Буслаев. Месть валькирий)
 * 6) Methodius Buslaev. Depressnyak's Secret Magic (Мефодий Буслаев. Тайная магия Депресcняка)
 * 7) Methodius Buslaev. Tartarus's Ice and Flame (Мефодий Буслаев. Лед и пламя Тартара)
 * 8) Methodius Buslaev. The First Eydos (Мефодий Буслаев. Первый Эйдос)
 * 9) Methodius Buslaev. Wings of Light for the Dark Guard (Мефодий Буслаев. Светлые крылья для тёмного стража)
 * 10) Methodius Buslaev. Stairway to Eden (Мефодий Буслаев. Лестница в Эдем)
 * 11) Methodius Buslaev. The map of Chaos (Мефодий Буслаев. Карта Хаоса)
 * 12) Methodius Buslaev. Dryad's necklace (Мефодий Буслаев. Ожерелье дриады)
 * 13) Methodius Buslaev. Glass guard (Мефодий Буслаев. Стеклянный страж)

 * 1) Hooligan fantasy: Great Something (Хулиганское фэнтези: Великое нечто)

Similarities
The Dutch court found the following similarities between Harry Potter and Tanya Grotter:

title: Tanya Grotter