title: James Wilson (House)

text: Wilson attempts to change House's drug habits, with little success. After Cuddy makes a bet to prove House is addicted to Vicodin, House concedes to Wilson that he has an addiction but says that the addiction is not a problem. It is, in fact, Wilson who usually writes House's Vicodin prescriptions (with Cuddy writing a few merely for leverage in her dealings with House). In Season 3, when Detective Michael Tritter (David Morse) threatens to jail House for his Vicodin addiction after finding a huge stash in his apartment, Wilson attempts to convince House to go to rehab as the situation worsens. After Tritter pressures Wilson to testify several times, Wilson reluctantly agrees, unknown to House. Before this, Wilson watches House punch Dr. Robert Chase, insult Cuddy, and incorrectly diagnose a child with a condition that would have required the amputation of her left arm and leg.


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Near the end of Season 4, Wilson starts a romantic relationship with Amber Volakis, who shares many character traits with House, and who competed for one of the open jobs on House's team in the wake of Foreman, Chase, and Cameron's departure. In the Season 4 finale, she dies after a bus crash sustained while picking up a drunken House from a bar. Her death eventually leads Wilson to conclude that his relationship with House serves to enable House's dysfunctions. To remove himself from House's influence, he resigns from Princeton-Plainsboro at the beginning of Season 5. The two reconcile when Wilson forces House to attend the funeral of House's father. Wilson realizes that he had been afraid of losing House, who is his true friend, and that Wilson's life didn't get any better when he resigned. He then returns to Princeton-Plainsboro.


title: James Wilson (House)

text: During Season 5, it is revealed that Wilson's homeless brother Danny suffered from schizophrenia since adolescence, which is what caused him to run away. Wilson blames himself for his brother's homelessness, having hung up on Danny right before he disappeared. Wilson also reveals to House that he took the position at Princeton-Plainsboro because it was near the place he had last seen Danny. When Wilson finds out that Danny is in the Psychiatric Ward of New York Mercy Hospital [fictional], House offers to come with him to keep him company, noting that it could end badly. However, when Wilson is let in to see his brother, House is busy with a differential with his team.


title: James Wilson (House)

text: In Season 6, Episode 15, "Private Lives", House discovers that Wilson, in his youth, had been an actor in a porno flick titled "Feral Pleasures". Throughout the episode, after House hangs movie posters all over the hospital, people start paraphrasing a quote by Wilson's character: "Be not afraid. The forest nymphs have taught me how to please a woman". In addition, Wilson proposes a joke marriage to House in "The Down Low".


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Gay references have been made to the relationship between the two characters of the show. House jokes about their relationship, stating "I'm gay!...Oh that's not what you meant. It would explain a lot, though: no girlfriend, always with Wilson, the obsession with sneakers...". When Wilson asks House what his recreation plans are, House responds "Masturbating. I'd invite you, but people are already talking". Barbara Barnett said that "House is the needy one in the relationship, and Wilson the doormat". Verne Gay of "Newsday" described House's love for Wilson as "touching and genuine". However, Robert Sean Leonard compared the relationship between the two to that of Cesar Millan and his Pit Bull, while Hugh Laurie said that it's "not just buddydom". The two characters appeared on the October 13, 2008, cover of "TV Guide".


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Robert Sean Leonard was not initially interested in auditioning for the role of James Wilson. He believes that he got the role because of his friendship with Bryan Singer, whom he had met in the past, shortly after he was paid for his role in "Dead Poets' Society". Singer borrowed money from him to shoot "Lion's Den" starring his friend Ethan Hawke, who also attended high school with Singer. In 2004, Leonard received the scripts for the pilot of both "House" and CBS' "Numb3rs" (in which he was asked to audition for the part of Charlie Eppes). He thought the script for "Numb3rs" was "kinda cool". However, he decided to audition for the part of Wilson on "House", because his character on "Numb3rs" was in almost every scene of the show.


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Within the scope of a popular comparison that draws parallels between House and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Wilson is equivalent to Doctor Watson. In two-parts episodes such as Euphoria, Part 1 and Euphoria, Part 2, and House's Head and Wilson's Heart, Wilson's voice is heard narrating the story, while Dr. Watson is the character who narrates the stories in most of Sherlock Holmes novels. Leonard has said that his character and House were originally intended to play roles similar to Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, respectively, in the series although he believes that House's team has assumed the role of Watson since the show began. Producer Katie Jacobs believes that Wilson and House both hide from mature relationships, which brings the two closer together. She has said that the difference between the two characters is that Wilson finds it hard to say no because he wants to please the other person. The similarities between Dr. Wilson and Dr. Watson was also one of the reasons that made Leonard choose "House" over "Numb3rs".


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Leonard has said that Wilson is one of the few characters to voluntarily maintain a relationship with House, because neither of them work for one another and thus his character has "nothing to lose" by telling him the truth. His character is one of the few who can make House laugh. Katie Jacobs has said that Wilson's moving into House's apartment after a failed relationship in "Sex Kills" symbolizes his taking "emotional refuge" in his friend. Leonard said that he was content with the size of his role. He has also stated that he would "kill himself" if he had a role as big as the other cast members.


title: James Wilson (House)

text: Responses to Leonard's performance were mostly positive. In a recap of the pilot episode, Tom Shales of "The Washington Post" quoted "Leonard has been playing upstanding young men for what seems like forever, but he's still one of the most outstanding upstanding young men in the acting racket". However, Sherwin Nurland of "Slate" stated that Leonard often seems so detached that "he'd be better off in another show". In a recap of the season four episode "Ugly" Nina Smith of "TV Guide" said that she thinks that the most convincing writing of the show has always been the scenes in which Cuddy and Wilson "spar" with House. In a 2008 press conference, Katie Jacobs, who works as an executive producer for the show, praised Leonard for being equally adept at comedy and drama. TV Gal, of Zap2it, stated that she "truly appreciates" what Leonard brings to the show, being the only character who "truly stands up to House" and "quietly and subtly" giving the show "some of its best moments". In an article about whom to keep if the writers of "House" decided to minor down the cast, Maureen Ryan, of the "Chicago Tribune" said that Wilson can "never, never, never, never" leave the show. Ryan also listed Wilson on her list of "5 Great Characters", saying that Leonard is the "underrated linchpin of the excellent “House” cast".


title: James Wilson (House)

text: After Wilson's temporary departure during "House"s fifth season, Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" immediately stated that she wanted the character to return to the show. Linda Stasi of "The New York Post" said that Dr. House's relationship with Lucas Douglas (Michael Weston), who temporarily replaced Wilson, was far more natural than House's relationship with Wilson. Critics from "TV Guide", "Entertainment Weekly", Blog Critics and "USA Today", all found Leonard's performance in the season 4 finale worthy of an Emmy Award.


The 2016 United States presidential election in Texas took place on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election. Primary elections were held on March 1, 2016.


title: 2016 United States presidential election in Texas

text: Texas was won by Republican Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence by a 8.99% margin over Democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. The Lone Star State assigned its 38 Electoral College votes to the state's popular vote winner, but two faithless electors chose other candidates, making Texas the only state in 2016 to give Trump fewer than the assigned electoral votes. Even then, its 36 electoral votes were Trump's largest electoral prize in 2016.


text: When the Electoral College met on December 19, 2016, only 36 out of the 38 electors voted for Trump for president. Two electors defected; one voted for Ohio Governor John Kasich, and the other voted for Congressman Ron Paul. For vice president, 37 electors voted for Pence, while one voted for Carly Fiorina. This was the first time since 1976 where a Republican presidential candidate lost a pledged vote via a faithless elector; that year, Gerald Ford lost a Washington state electoral vote to fellow Republican Ronald Reagan. Additionally, this was the first time since 1972 that the winning presidential candidate lost an electoral vote, when Richard Nixon lost a Virginia electoral vote to Libertarian Party nominee John Hospers.


text: Texas was one of the eleven states where Clinton improved on Barack Obama's performance in 2012. Clinton lost Texas by a smaller margin than any Democrat since 1996 (though Barack Obama got a slightly larger percentage of the vote in 2008), which analysts attributed to Trump losing ground with college-educated white voters. Trump's performance in the Lone Star state was the weakest of any victorious republican nominee since Richard Nixon became the last republican to be elected president without Texas in 1968. Trump was the tenth consecutive Republican presidential nominee to win Texas, beginning with Reagan in 1980. Nevertheless, he became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Bexar County since Richard Nixon in 1968, as well as the first to do so without carrying Fort Bend County since Herbert Hoover in 1928, and to do so without carrying Harris or Dallas County since Calvin Coolidge in 1924.


text: The Texas Democratic Party held their state's primary in concurrence with the other Super Tuesday contests on March 1. Eight candidates appeared on the ballot, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, dropped-out candidate Martin O'Malley and five minor candidates (Rocky De La Fuente, Willie Wilson, Star Locke, Keith Russell Judd and Calvis Hawes.) The Texas Democratic primary had 251 delegates to the Democratic National Convention: 222 pledged delegates and 29 super delegates. 145 delegates were allocated proportionally based on the results in the state's 31 senatorial districts. The other 77 pledged delegates were allocated proportionally based on the statewide popular vote.


text: Megyn Kelly hosted a two-hour town hall event on The Kelly File with Kasich, Cruz, Rubio, and Carson in attendance. Trump did not participate in the forum.


text: After the caucus in Nevada, the tenth debate was held at the University of Houston in Houston and broadcast by CNN as its third of four debates, in conjunction with Telemundo. The debate aired five days before 14 states voted on Super Tuesday, March 1. While the debate was to be held in partnership with Telemundo's English-language counterpart NBC, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus announced on October 30, 2015, that it had suspended the partnership in response to CNBC's "bad faith" in handling the October 28, 2015, debate. On January 18, 2016, the RNC announced that CNN would replace NBC News as the main host of the debate, in partnership with Telemundo and Salem Communications (CNN's conservative media partner). The debate was shifted a day earlier at the same time. "National Review" was disinvited by the Republican National Committee from co-hosting the debate over its criticism of GOP front-runner Donald Trump. On February 19, the criteria for invitation to the debate was announced: in addition to having official statements of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and accepting the rules of the debate, candidates must have received at least 5% support in one of the first four election contests held in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. By these criteria, all five remaining candidates, Carson, Cruz, Kasich, Rubio, and Trump, qualified for invitation to the debate. The 155 delegates to the Republican National Convention were allocated in this way. 108 delegates are allocated by congressional district; 3 per district. If a candidate gets over 50% of the vote in a congressional district; they would win all of the district's 3 delegates. If no one had a majority and one candidate had at least 20% of the vote, the candidate winning the plurality would get 2 delegates and the candidate in second place would get 1 delegate. If nobody receives at least 20% of the vote, the top 3 vote-getters each get 1 delegate. There were another 47 at-large delegates. If someone received more than 50% of the vote, they would get all of the at-large delegates. If no one got more than 50% of the vote and there were at least 2 candidates that got over 20% of the vote, the delegates would be allocated proportionally among the candidates receiving more than 20% of the vote. If only one candidate got over 20% of the vote and not a majority, the delegates would be allocated between the candidate that got over 20% of the vote and the candidate who received the 2nd most votes. If no candidate got 20%, they would allocate all of the 47 at-large delegates proportionally.


text: The Texas Green Party held its party caucuses at conventions at the precinct level on March 8, the county level on March 12, and the district level on March 19, leading up to the state nominating convention in Grey Forest, Texas, on April 9 and 10.


text: Trump won every single pre-election poll with margins varying from 2 to 14 points. Trump won the last poll 49% to 35% and the average of the last three polls showed Trump leading 50% to 38%.


text: The voting age population was 19,307,355, of which 15,101,087 were registered to vote. Turnout was 8,969,226, which is 46.45% of the voting age population and 59.39% of registered voters. The early voting period lasted for two weeks ending November 4, with 43.5% of registered voters casting early or absentee ballots. Out of those who cast votes, 73% cast their ballots early or absentee and 26% voted on Election Day.


text: Thirteen candidates received write-in votes, of which the large majority (42,366) went to Evan McMullin.


text: Trump won 22 of 36 congressional districts, while Clinton won 14, including three held by Republicans


text: While he continued the Republican 10-cycle winning streak in Texas, Trump's winning margin was down from Mitt Romney's 16% in 2012 to 8.99%, a 7.01% drop, making 2016 the closest Democrats had come to winning Texas since 1996 (though the Democrats also received a smaller percentage of the vote in Texas in this election than in the 2008 presidential election). The surge in Democratic votes can partly be attributed to a growing population of Hispanics/Latinos, Trump's relatively weak performance with college-educated white voters, and the growth of cities and their respective suburbs in the Texas Triangle region, which are heavily populated with both college-educated voters and minorities and thus swung more Democratic compared to 2012. These were Clinton's main sources of votes. She swept the Rio Grande region counties, such as El Paso, Webb, Hidalgo and Cameron as they have sizable Hispanic populations. Clinton scored a 38-point sweep in Travis County, home to the state capital and heavily liberal city of Austin, the best Democratic performance in the county since 1964. She became the first Democrat to break 60% of the vote in Dallas County since 1944. Furthermore, she outperformed Obama in the minority-heavy counties of Bexar (San Antonio) and Harris County (Houston), shifting his slim victories into double-digit leads. Clinton also won suburban Fort Bend County for the first time since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, which was attributed to the county's large immigrant population and negative perception of Trump by female Republican voters. While Clinton didn't win suburban counties such as Denton County, Williamson County, Collin County, or Hays County, her margin of defeat was much narrower than other Democratic presidential nominees. Trump on the other hand narrowly flipped Jefferson County in East Texas, becoming the first Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972 to win the county. Places that had large numbers of young voters in the state were a stronghold for Clinton as well. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick suggested that Trump's relatively small margin of victory could have been largely due to many moderate Republican voters who had supported Romney in 2012 staying home. In an interview conducted the morning after the election, Patrick said in reference to these voters, "Had they turned out, he would've been in the low teens".


text: In total, Clinton beat Trump in 27 counties by a total of 883,819 votes, and had the best percentage performance than any other Democrat running statewide. Conversely, Trump, who won 227 of the state's 254 counties, got the smallest percentage of the vote of all Republicans running in the state.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: Jesse Itzler is an American entrepreneur, author, and rapper. He is the co-founder of Marquis Jet, one of the largest private jet card companies in the world, a partner in Zico Coconut Water, the founder of The 100 Mile Group and an owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: Itzler was born to a Jewish family and raised in Roslyn, New York, on Long Island, the son of Daniel Itzler, an inventor, and Elese Itzler, the president of the Roslyn Board of Education. Itzler earned his bachelor's degree in 1990 from American University. He later obtained a degree in justice, law, and society.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: After graduating from college, Itzler signed with Delicious Vinyl records as a songwriter/artist. He released his debut album "Thirty Footer in Your Face" using the pseudonym Jesse Jaymes in 1991. He co-wrote songs for various artists including Tone Lōc. His first released single "College Girls (Are Easy)" while not ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 chart did become a club anthem. This was followed by his second single "Shake It Like A White Girl", which did reach 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991 and was featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 movie "White Chicks". In 1992, Itzler wrote and sang the New York Knicks theme song "Go NY Go" as well as original songs for more than 50 other professional teams. Itzler wrote and sang the Emmy Award-winning song "I Love This Game" and also produced the theme song for "Inside the NBA". Itzler is credited with campaigns for Foot Locker and Coca-Cola.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: Itzler's music partner was Dana Mozie, whom he met in 1987, a man described as being from a "strikingly different background... raised in the southeast section of Washington... as streetwise as Itzler was suburban," with whom he collaborated on several musical projects in his period as Jesse Jaymes.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 1996, Itzler co-founded Alphabet City Sports Records with his friend Kenny Dichter, the CEO of Wheels Up. The record company is known for mixing classic arena songs with highlights of historical play-by-play calls for professional sports teams including the Wizards, the Mavericks, and the Lakers. In 1998, the company was sold to SFX.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 2001, Itzler co-founded Marquis Jet, one of the largest private jet card companies in the world. Itzler served as the company's Vice Chairman until the company was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, parent company of NetJets, in 2009.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 2009, Itzler created the 100 Mile Group, a brand incubator and accelerator. The company announced a partnership with ZICO Coconut Water and the Coca-Cola company in 2009. In 2012, ZICO was acquired by Coca-Cola for an undisclosed sum.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In November 2015, Itzler released his book "Living With a SEAL: 31 Days Training With the Toughest Man on the Planet". The book was a "New York Times" Best Seller and ranked first on the "LA Times" book list. He released "Living With the Monks: What Turning Off My Phone Taught Me about Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus" in 2018. Itzler is represent by literary agent Lisa Leshne of The Leshne Agency.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 2015, Itzler and his wife, Sara Blakely were part of a group led by Tony Ressler along with Grant Hill, Steven Price, and Rick Schnall, that successfully purchased the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million from Bruce Levenson.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 2006, Itzler competed in the USA National Ultra Marathon Championship in Grapevine, Texas, successfully completing a 100-mile run in under 24 hours. Itzler finished 49th out of 80 in the SEA Paddle NYC 25 mile stand up paddle race around Manhattan in 2012.


title: Jesse Itzler

text: In 2008, Itzler married Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, at the Gasparilla Inn and Club in Boca Grande, Florida. The couple have four children and reside in Georgia.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: "Thunderstruck" is the lead single from the 1990 album "The Razors Edge" by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It peaked at 5 on the US "Billboard" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2010, "Thunderstruck" topped Triple M Melbourne's Ultimate 500 Rock Countdown in Australia. The top five were all AC/DC songs.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Thunderstruck" was ranked No. 8.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: The song is one of the most recognisable in the bands' entire catalog and it is a setlist staple having been performed at nearly all shows since its release. With the exception of new material from albums they are touring behind, it is one of only three songs released after "Back in Black" that are still performed live by the band, the others being 1981's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" and 2008's "Rock and Roll Train".


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: The video directed by David Mallet, which accompanied the single was filmed at London's Brixton Academy on 1990. The audience members were given free T-shirts with the words "AC/DC – I was Thunderstruck" on the front and the date on the back, and these T-shirts were worn by the entire audience throughout the filming of the video.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: On 29 October 2021, the video hit one billion views on YouTube, the first AC/DC music video to do so.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: "Thunderstruck" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. "The Guardian" ranked the song number eight on its list of the 40 greatest AC/DC songs, and the British rock magazine "Kerrang!" ranked the song number six on its list of the 20 greatest AC/DC songs.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: It has also been played in episodes of "My Name Is Earl", "Hawaii Five-0", "Top Gear", "New Girl", "Training Day", Supernatural, "Titans and ."The song is also used at many sporting events including every Marshall Thundering Herd football game, and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders dance to this song at the preshow before the Dallas Cowboys games.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: In 2021, the song was played during the pre-race show when Texas Motor Speedway hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time.


title: Thunderstruck (song)

text: The song was used as part of the payload of a computer virus which attacked the Iranian nuclear program between 2009 and 2010. Reportedly developed by the US and Israeli governments, Stuxnet took control of centrifuge controls in nuclear facilities across the country causing extensive damage to machinery. Additionally, various workstations were hijacked with the song playing randomly at high volume late at night. In an email sent to Finnish computer security expert, Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, one of the scientists involved in the program was quoted as saying:


title: Hostel

text: A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared bathrooms. Private rooms may also be available, but the property must offer dormitories to be considered a hostel. Hostels are popular forms of lodging for backpackers. They are part of the sharing economy. Benefits of hostels include lower costs and opportunities to meet people from different places, find travel partners, and share travel ideas. Some hostels, such as Zostel in India or Hostelling International, cater to a niche market of travelers. For example, one hostel might feature in-house social gatherings such as movie nights or communal dinners, another might feature local tours, one might be known for its parties, and another might have a quieter place to relax in serenity, or be located on the beach. Newer hostels focus on a more trendy design interior, some of which are on par with boutique hotels. Some may cater to older digital nomads, global nomads, and perpetual travelers that prefer slightly more upmarket private rooms or a quieter atmosphere.


title: Hostel

text: Many hostels are locally owned and operated, and are often cheaper for both the operator and occupants than hotels. Hostels may offer long-term lodging to guests for free or at a discount in exchange for work as a receptionist or in housekeeping.


title: Hostel

text: There are approximately 10,000 hostels in Europe and approximately 300 hostels in the United States. The typical guest is between 16 and 34 years old, although it can vary depending on the country.


title: Hostel

text: In addition to shared kitchen facilities, some hostels have a restaurant and/or bar. Washing machines and clothes dryers are often provided for an additional fee. Hostels sometimes have entryways for storing gear. Most hostels offer lockers for safely storing valuables. Some bare-bones hostels do not provide linens. Some hostels may have a curfew and daytime lockouts, and some, albeit few, require occupants to do chores apart from washing and drying after food preparation.


title: Hostel

text: A mobile hostel is a temporary hostel that can take the form of a campsite, bus, van, or a short-term arrangement in a permanent building. They have been used at large festivals or trips where there is a shortage of lodging.


title: Hostel

text: In some cities, hostels reported a higher average income per room than hotels. For example, in Honolulu, Hawaii, upscale hotels reported average daily room rates of $173 in 2006, while hostel rooms brought in as much as $200 per night, for rooms of eight guests paying $25 each. Even during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, many hostels reported increased occupancy numbers at a time when hotel bookings were down.


title: Hostel

text: A 2013 study in Australia showed that youth travel was the fastest-growing travel demographic and that the hostel industry was growing at a faster rate than the hotel industry. It showed that youth travel can lead to higher overall spending due to longer trips than traditional vacations. In New Zealand, backpackers hostels had a 13.5% share of lodging guests/nights in 2007.


title: Hostel

text: In August 1909, Richard Schirrmann, a teacher in Germany, first published his idea of inexpensive accommodation for youth travel after leading a school camping trip that was derailed by a thunderstorm. Schirrmann received considerable support and opened a makeshift hostel for hikers in the school in which he taught.


title: Hostel

text: On June 1, 1912, Schirrmann opened the first hostel in Altena Castle. The original hostel rooms are now a museum.


title: Hostel

text: Schirrmann served in World War I and after observing a Christmas Truce on the Western Front in December 1915, he wondered whether "thoughtful young people of all countries could be provided with suitable meeting places where they could get to know each other". In 1919, he founded the German Youth Hostel Association.


title: Hostel

text: By 1932, Germany had more than 2,000 hostels recording more than 4.5 million overnights annually. The International Youth Hostel Federation (now Hostelling International) was founded in October 1932. It is now an organization composed of more than 90 hostel associations representing over 4,500 hostels in over 80 countries. These hostels cater more to school-aged children, sometimes through school trips, and families with school-aged children.


title: Hostel

text: In 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt was honorary president of AYH (now Hostelling International USA). John D. Rockefeller III was a proponent of hostels and was president for several years.


title: Hostel

text: During World War II, many hostels in Europe were temporarily shut down or placed under the control of the Hitler Youth.


title: Hostel

text: After the Great Recession, the industry grew rapidly in New York City, Rome, Buenos Aires, and Miami. However, a 2010 law curbed the growth of hostels in New York City.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 American rock musical comedy horror film written and directed by Brian De Palma and scored by and starring Paul Williams. In the film, a naïve young singer-songwriter (played by William Finley) is tricked by legendary but unscrupulous music producer Swan (Williams) into giving up his life's work, a rock opera based on the Faust legend. The composer dons a bizarre new persona to terrorize Swan's new concert hall in revenge and to have his favorite singer, Phoenix (played by Jessica Harper), perform his music.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The story is a loosely adapted mixture of several classic European works: Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel "The Phantom of the Opera", Oscar Wilde's 1890 "The Picture of Dorian Gray", and "Faust" by Goethe/Christopher Marlowe.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The film was a box office failure and received negative reviews contemporaneously, while earning praise for its music and receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. However, over the years, the film has received much more positive reviews and has become a cult film.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Singer-songwriter Winslow Leach is heard by acclaimed record producer Swan as Winslow plays an original composition following a set run through by the 1950s-style nostalgia band the Juicy Fruits, which Swan produces. Swan believes Winslow's music perfect to open The Paradise — Swan's highly anticipated new concert hall — and has his right-hand man Arnold Philbin steal it, under the guise of producing Winslow.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: One month later, Winslow goes to Swan's Death Records to follow up about his music but is thrown out. He sneaks into Swan's private mansion and observes several women rehearsing his music for an audition. One is Phoenix, an aspiring singer whom Winslow deems perfect for his music. Winslow realizes Swan's plan to open the Paradise with his music after he is thrown out again. In response, he disguises himself as a woman to sneak in and try to speak to Swan. Swan has Winslow beaten and framed for drug dealing. Winslow is given a life sentence in Sing Sing prison and his teeth are extracted and replaced with metal ones as part of an experimental prisoner program to decrease infection amongst inmates, funded by the Swan Foundation.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Six months later, Winslow hears that the Juicy Fruits have made an anticipated hit record of his music with Swan's backing. After a breakdown, he escapes prison in a delivery box and breaks into the Death Records building. A guard startles Winslow as he is destroying the records and presses, causing him to slip and fall face first into a record press, which crushes and burns the right half of his face, also destroying his vocal cords. He barely manages to escape the studio, falling into the East River as the police arrive.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: A disoriented, and now deformed, Winslow sneaks into The Paradise's costume department and dons a long, black cape and a silver, owl-like mask, becoming the Phantom of the Paradise. He terrorizes Swan and his musicians and nearly kills the Beach Bums (formerly the Juicy Fruits, who have traded doo-wop for surf music) with a bomb while they are playing a heavily reworked version of Winslow's own Faust song. The Phantom confronts Swan, who recognizes him as Winslow and offers the composer a chance to have his music produced his way. In a specially built recording studio, Swan provides the Phantom with an electronic voice-box, enabling him to speak and sing. Swan asks Winslow to rewrite his cantata with Phoenix in mind for the lead. Although Winslow agrees and signs a contract in blood, Swan breaks the deal by telling Philbin that he resents Phoenix's perfection for the role. The Phantom completes "Faust", but Swan replaces Phoenix with a pill-popping male glam rock prima donna named Beef in the lead of Winslow's "Faust" and relegates Phoenix to backup.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Swan steals the completed cantata and seals the Phantom inside the recording studio with a brick wall. Winslow escapes and confronts Beef, in a comic allusion to the shower scene in "Psycho", and threatens to kill him if he performs. Beef tries to flee, but is forced by Philbin to stay and play with the band the Undeads (the Juicy Fruits/Beach Bums rebranded again as a glam/goth act) who now all resemble Cesare the Somnambulist from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". As Beef performs, the Phantom, hidden in the rafters, strikes and electrocutes Beef with a stage prop. Horrified, Philbin orders Phoenix onstage and she is an immediate sensation.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Swan seduces Phoenix in her dressing room after the show with promises of stardom. As she leaves, she is spirited away by the Phantom to the roof. The Phantom tells Phoenix his true identity and implores her to leave The Paradise so Swan won't destroy her too. But Phoenix does not recognize or believe him and flees. At Swan's mansion, the Phantom observes Swan and Phoenix in a tight embrace. Heartbroken, he stabs himself through the heart with a bowie knife. However, Swan tells the Phantom that he cannot die until Swan himself has died. The Phantom attempts to stab Swan, but Swan is unharmed. Looking down at Winslow, Swan hisses in an almost reptilian voice, "I'm under contract, too."


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: "Rolling Stone" announces the wedding between Swan and Phoenix during "Faust"s finale. The Phantom learns that Swan made a pact with the Devil in 1953: Swan will remain youthful forever unless the videotaped recording of his contract is destroyed, and photos age and fester in his place. The tape reveals footage of Winslow signing his contract with Swan and a new one Swan made with Phoenix. On a live television camera, the Phantom realizes Swan is planning to have Phoenix assassinated during the ceremony. He destroys all the recordings and heads off to the wedding.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: During the wedding, an extravaganza with dancing women dressed as black birds (alluding to "Swan Lake"), the Phantom stops the assassin from hitting Phoenix; the Pope-costumed Philbin is shot and killed instead. The Phantom swings onto the stage and rips off Swan's mask, exposing him as a decaying monster on live television. A crazed Swan attempts to strangle Phoenix but the Phantom intervenes and stabs him repeatedly. In doing so, the Phantom's own stab wound reopens and he starts bleeding. As he is dying, Swan is carried around by the audience, who join in the mania, stabbing him. The dying Winslow removes his mask to reveal his own face and holds out a hand to Phoenix. Swan dies, allowing Winslow to die of his own wound. As Winslow succumbs, Phoenix finally recognizes him as the kind man she met at Swan's mansion and embraces him as he dies.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The film's soundtrack album features all songs excluding "Never Thought I'd Get to Meet the Devil" and "Faust" (1st Reprise). All words and music are by Paul Williams.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The record press in which William Finley's character was disfigured was a real injection-molding press at Pressman Toys. He was worried about whether the machine would be safe, and the crew assured that it was. The press was fitted with foam pads (which resemble the casting molds in the press), and there were chocks put in the center to stop it from closing completely. Unfortunately, the machine was powerful enough to crush the chocks and it gradually kept closing. Finley was pulled out in time to avoid injury.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The electronic room in which Winslow composes his cantata, and where Swan restores his voice, is in fact the real-life recording studio The Record Plant. The walls covered with knobs are in reality an oversize custom-built electronic synthesizer dubbed TONTO, which still exists to this day.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The City Center concert hall in New York City provided the exterior for The Paradise; interior concert scenes were filmed at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas. The extras in the audience had responded to an open cattle call for locals interested in being in the film.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Sissy Spacek was the film's set dresser, assisting her then-boyfriend-now-husband Jack Fisk, the film's production designer. She later starred in De Palma's "Carrie" in 1976.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: A novelization of the film was written by Bjarne Rostaing. Apparently based on an early draft of the screenplay, the novel excludes the supernatural angle of the film.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The film was financed independently. Producer Pressman then screened the movie to studios and sold it to the highest bidder, 20th Century Fox, for $2 million plus a percentage.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: As originally filmed, the name of Swan's media conglomerate "Swan Song Enterprises" had to be deleted from the film prior to release due to the existence of Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song Records. Although most references were removed, "Swan Song" remains visible in several scenes.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: "Phantom of the Paradise" opened at the National theater in Los Angeles on October 31, 1974, and grossed $18,455 in its first weekend, increasing its gross the following weekend with $19,506, with a total gross of $53,000 in two weeks. In two months, "Variety" tracked it grossing $250,000 from the major markets it covered. The film was successful during its theatrical release in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where it opened on Boxing Day 1974 and played continuously in local cinemas over four months and over one year non-continuously until 1976. The soundtrack album sold 20,000 copies in Winnipeg alone, and was certified Gold in Canada. The film played occasionally in Winnipeg theaters in the 1990s and at the Winnipeg IMAX theater in 2000, drawing a "dedicated audience".


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Williams performed the song "The Hell of It" on a 1977 episode of "The Brady Bunch Hour", and also performed it in "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula" the same year.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" wrote that the film attempted to parody ""Faust", "The Phantom of the Opera", "The Picture of Dorian Gray", rock music, the rock music industry, rock music movies and horror movies. The problem is that since all of these things, with the possible exception of "Faust" (and I'm not really sure about "Faust"), already contain elements of self-parody, there isn't much that the outside parodist can do to make the parody seem funnier or more absurd than the originals already are." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film two stars out of four, writing that "what's up on the screen is childish; it has meaning only because it points to something else. To put it another way, joking about the rock music scene is treacherous, because the rock music scene itself is a joke." "Variety" called the film "a very good horror comedy-drama" with "excellent" camera work, and stated that all the principal actors "come across extremely well." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" called the film "delightfully outrageous," adding that De Palma's sense of humor "is often as sophomoric as that which he is ostensibly spoofing. Fortunately, this tendency diminishes as "Phantom of the Paradise" progresses, with the film and the Faustian rock opera within it gradually converging and finally fusing in a truly stunning and ingenious finale." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" was positive, stating, "Though you may anticipate a plot turn, it's impossible to guess what the next scene will "look" like or what its rhythm will be. De Palma's timing is sometimes wantonly unpredictable and dampening, but mostly it has a lift to it. You practically get a kinetic charge from the breakneck wit he put into 'Phantom;' it isn't just that the picture has vitality but that one can feel the tremendous kick the director got out of making it." Richard Combs of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "Too broad in its effects and too bloated in style to cut very deeply as a parody of "The Phantom of the Opera", Brian De Palma's rock horror movie is closer to the anything goes mode of a "Mad" magazine lampoon ... "Phantom of the Paradise" nevertheless offers fair competition to and comes on much like "Tommy."


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a score of 86% based on 29 reviews, with an average grade of 7.3 out of 10 and the consensus: "Brian De Palma's subversive streak is on full display in "Phantom of the Paradise", an ebullient rock opera that rhapsodizes creativity when it isn't seething with disdain for the music industry."


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: On September 4, 2001, "Phantom of the Paradise" was made available on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The film was given a Blu-ray release on August 4, 2014, by Shout! Factory under the Scream Factory label. This edition features an audio commentary, interviews, alternate takes, the original "Swan Song" footage, and original trailers, and television and radio spots.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Song Score and Adaptation and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score – Motion Picture.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: A fan-organized festival, dubbed Phantompalooza, was held in 2005 in Winnipeg, where the fanbase took particularly strong root. That event featured appearances by Gerrit Graham and William Finley, in the same Winnipeg theatre where the film had its original run in 1975. A second Phantompalooza was staged April 28, 2006, reuniting many of the surviving cast members and featuring a concert by Paul Williams.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: A successful concert production of the show, adapted by Weasel War Dance Productions, premiered March 12, 2018, at The Secret Loft in New York City.


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Musician Sébastien Tellier wrote about his song "Divine" on his album "Sexuality": "This is my tribute to the Beach Boys and the Juicy Fruits (from the 1974 musical "Phantom of the Paradise"). It's about a time of innocence – when having fun was more important than picking up girls. I visualise a bunch of kids having fun on the beach and I'd really love to play with them."


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: Upon Finley's death in April 2012, Bret Easton Ellis wrote on Twitter: "RIP: Winslow Leach a.k.a. William Finley one of my favorite characters in one of my favorite movies: De Palma's The Phantom of the Paradise."


title: Phantom of the Paradise

text: "Hundreds of bands may tout cinematic references, yet few have them as hard-wired as Daft Punk. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met two decades ago this year, at the perfect cinema-going ages of 13 and 12 ... the one movie which they saw together more than 20 times was "Phantom of the Paradise", Brian De Palma's 1974 rock musical, based loosely around "Phantom of the Opera" (both this and "Electroma" feature 'a hero with a black leather outfit and a helmet')."


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 50 states and 74 countries and offers 44 majors in the arts, humanities, literature, foreign languages, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as joint engineering programs with Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In addition to its undergraduate liberal arts program, the school also has graduate schools, the Middlebury College Language Schools, the Bread Loaf School of English, and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, as well as its C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad international programs. It is the among the "Little Ivies", an unofficial group of academically selective liberal arts colleges, mostly in the northeastern United States.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury is known for progressive teaching and thought. The college was the first American institution of higher education to award a bachelor's degree to an African-American, graduating Alexander Twilight in the class of 1823. Middlebury was also one of the first formerly all-male liberal arts colleges in New England to become a coeducational institution, following the trustees' decision in 1883 to accept women. In 1965, the college established the first undergraduate Environmental Studies program in the United States, and, in 2019, publicly committed to full divestment of the college's endowment from the fossil fuel industry through its Energy2028 initiative.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury's 31 varsity teams are the Middlebury Panthers and compete in the NCAA Division III's NESCAC conference.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury received its founding charter on November 1, 1800, as an outgrowth of the "Addison County Grammar School", which had been founded three years earlier in 1797. The college's first president—Jeremiah Atwater—began classes a few days later, making Middlebury the first operating college or university in Vermont. One student named Aaron Petty graduated at the first commencement held in August 1802. The college's founding religious affiliation was loosely Congregationalist. Yet the idea for a college was that of town fathers rather than clergymen, and Middlebury was clearly "the Town's College" rather than the Church's. Chief among its founders were Seth Storrs and Gamaliel Painter, the former credited with the idea for a college and the latter as its greatest early benefactor. In addition to receiving a diploma upon graduation, Middlebury graduates also receive a replica of Gamaliel Painter's cane. Painter bequeathed his original cane to the college and it is carried by the college President at official occasions including first-year convocation and graduation. Alexander Twilight, class of 1823, was the first black graduate of any college or university in the United States; he also became the first African American elected to public office, joining the Vermont House of Representatives in 1836. At its second commencement in 1804, Middlebury granted Lemuel Haynes an honorary master's degree, the first advanced degree ever bestowed upon an African American.


title: Middlebury College

text: In 1883, the trustees voted to accept women as students in the college, making Middlebury one of the first formerly all-male liberal arts colleges in New England to become a coeducational institution. The first female graduate—May Belle Chellis—received her degree in 1886. As valedictorian of the class of 1899, Mary Annette Anderson became the first African-American woman elected to Phi Beta Kappa.


title: Middlebury College

text: The college's centennial in 1900 began a century of physical expansion beyond the three buildings of Old Stone Row. York and Sawyer designed the Egbert Starr Library (1900), a Beaux-Arts edifice later expanded and renamed the Axinn Center, and Warner Hall (1901). Growth in enrollment and the endowment led to continued expansion westward. McCullough Hall (1912) and Voter Hall (1913) featured gymnasium and laboratories, respectively, adopting Georgian Revival styling while confirming the campus standard of grey Vermont limestone, granite, and marble.


title: Middlebury College

text: The national fraternity Kappa Delta Rho was founded in Painter Hall on May 17, 1905. Middlebury College abolished fraternities in the early 1990s, but the organization continued on campus in the less ritualized form of a social house. Due to a policy at the school against single-sex organizations, the house was forced to coeducate during the same period as well. The German Language School, founded in 1915 under the supervision of then-President John Martin Thomas, began the tradition of the Middlebury College Language Schools. These Schools, which take place on the Middlebury campus during the summer, enroll about 1,350 students in the Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish Language Schools.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury President Paul Dwight Moody began the American tradition of a National Christmas Tree in 1923 when the college donated a 48-foot balsam fir for use at the White House. The tree was illuminated when Vermont native Calvin Coolidge flipped an electric switch in the first year of his presidency. The Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury's graduate school of English, was established at the college's Bread Loaf Mountain campus in 1920. The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference was established in 1926. In 1978, the Bread Loaf School of English expanded to include a campus at Lincoln College, Oxford University. In 1991, the School expanded to include a campus at St. John's College in New Mexico, and to the University of North Carolina, Asheville, in 2006. The C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad began in 1949 with the school in Paris; they now host students at 38 sites in Argentina, Brazil, China, Cameroon, Chile, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Russia, Spain, Uruguay, United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico. The Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies was founded as an educational charity in 1975 by Drs John and Sandy Feneley in Oxford, England, establishing a facility at St. Michael's Hall in 1978, including the Feneley Library, and close links with Keble College, Oxford; in 2014, CMRS became part of Middlebury College Schools Abroad as Middlebury-CMRS, offering U.S. undergraduates an Oxford Humanities Research Program and Middlebury Museum Studies in Oxford. In 1965, Middlebury established its Environmental Studies program, creating the first undergraduate Environmental Studies program in the U.S. Nationally affiliated fraternities were abolished in 1990; some chose to become co-educational social houses which continue today.


title: Middlebury College

text: In May 2004, an anonymous benefactor made a $50 million donation to Middlebury. It is the largest cash gift the school has ever received. The donor asked only that Middlebury name its recently built science building, Bicentennial Hall, after outgoing President John McCardell Jr. As of July 2014, Middlebury's endowment stood at approximately $1 billion. Campus expansion has continued and recently completed projects have included new libraries, dorms, academic buildings, and athletic facilities.


title: Middlebury College

text: In 2005, Middlebury signed an affiliation agreement with the Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school in Monterey, California. On June 30, 2010, the Monterey Institute was officially designated as a graduate school of Middlebury College.


title: Middlebury College

text: In the summer of 2008, Middlebury and the Monterey Institute of International Studies launched a collaborative program to offer summer language immersion programs in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish to middle and high school students through the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (MMLA). In January 2014, as part of a new brand identity system, Middlebury announced that the Monterey Institute of International Studies would be renamed the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.


title: Middlebury College

text: In June 2010, Middlebury announced that it had a 40% stake in a joint-venture with K12 Inc. to build online language software to be marketed under the brand "Middlebury Interactive Languages." The initial release will cover basic Spanish and French and be aimed at high school students.


title: Middlebury College

text: By 2013, the French language was available online to schools for $12,000 annually. Elementary schools were eligible, starting at the third grade. Students proceed at their own pace with a local teacher giving individual guidance.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury has a pledge to attain carbon neutrality by 2016. As part of this, a biomass gasification plant was built on college land as well as solar and wind installations to reduce reliance on traditional fuel sources and cut carbon emissions.


title: Middlebury College

text: On March 2, 2017, political scientist Charles Murray was shouted down by students and outside agitators at the campus, and prevented from speaking at the McCullough Student Center. Murray had been named a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and has been criticized for a teenaged incident in 1960 where he burned a cross on a hill in his hometown of Newton, Iowa, an act which Murray himself later characterized as "incredibly dumb". After the protest, Murray's talk was moved to Wilson Hall and published online; however, after the talk there was a violent attack by protesters who attempted to obstruct and damage the vehicle of Bill Burger (the Vice President of communications at Middlebury College), Murray, and Middlebury professor Allison Stanger; Stanger was injured in the attack, requiring her hospitalization with a neck injury and concussion. Middlebury students alleged that College Public Safety officers instigated violence against students, and that Bill Burger hit students with his car as he drove Murray away from the building. Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton responded after the event, saying the school would respond to the clear violations of college policy by students that occurred. Some students (and faculty) felt that by refusing to allow Murray to speak, and by injuring Stanger, the Middlebury College student community "trod all over the ideas of free speech this country was founded upon". The school took disciplinary action against 74 students for their involvement in the incident.


title: Middlebury College

text: In the spring of 2017, the college also faced allegations of racial profiling, after a student was faced with disciplinary action despite evidence that they had not been present at the protest. Middlebury released a statement asserting that such allegations had been investigated that the college had determined that no such racial profiling had taken place. The statement also noted than an investigation had refuted the anonymous allegations against Burger.


title: Middlebury College

text: On January 26, 2019, the Middlebury Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed the Energy2028 Plan, which most notably involved full divestment of the school's endowment from the fossil fuel industry. Recognizing the profound threat of climate change, the plan includes fossil fuel divestment, a massive shift towards renewable energy, an energy consumption reduction and internal carbon tax, and a reinvigoration of environmental education initiatives on campus. The plan came as a result of generations of student activism, particularly on the part of the Divest Middlebury campaign, an initiative founded in 2012 by the Middlebury Sunday Night Environmental Group (SNEG).


title: Middlebury College

text: Founded in 1800, the college enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduates from all 50 states and 70 countries. The college offers 40 undergraduate departments and programs. Middlebury was the first institution of higher education in the United States to offer an environmental studies major, establishing the major in 1965. Middlebury College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.


title: Middlebury College

text: The most popular majors at Middlebury by number of recent graduates are: economics, international studies, English and American literatures, political science, psychology, and environmental studies. Close to 40 percent of graduating seniors choose a single major in a traditional academic discipline, and about 30 percent of students complete a double or joint major combining two disciplines. Another 30 percent of students major in one of the college's interdisciplinary programs.


title: Middlebury College

text: The academic year follows a 4–1–4 schedule of two four-course semesters in the autumn and spring plus what is known as a "Winter Term" session in January. The Winter Term, often called "J-Term" for January Term, allows students to enroll in one intensive course, pursue independent research, or complete an off-campus internship. Winter Term courses are taught by a mix of traditional faculty and special instructors.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Middlebury College Language Schools, which began with the establishment of the School of German in 1915, offer intensive instruction in 10 languages during six-, seven-, or eight-week summer sessions. The schools enroll about 1,350 students every summer. The Schools all use an immersion-based approach to language instruction and acquisition. All students in the Language Schools must sign and abide by Middlebury's ""Language Pledge"," a pledge to use their target language exclusively during the duration of their time at the School.


title: Middlebury College

text: Undergraduate instruction, available to undergraduate students, government employees and individuals from professional backgrounds, is offered in Abenaki (as of Summer 2020, with the first accredited session taking place summer 2021), Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, and Spanish.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury's Language Schools have historically been conducted at the college's campus in Vermont. In the summer of 2009 the college opened a satellite campus at Mills College in Oakland, California to accommodate a growth in enrollment. For the summer of 2011, Middlebury at Mills will offer Arabic, French, Japanese, and Spanish instruction. Since the summer of 2015, Mills College in Oakland hosts the newly founded Middlebury School of Korean (2015), as well as the School of Arabic and the School of Italian.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, in Monterey, California became an affiliate of Middlebury following the signing of an affiliation agreement between the two in December 2005. The Institute currently enrolls 790 graduate students in the fields of international relations, international business, language teaching, and translation and interpretation.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Middlebury College Language Schools offers a Doctor of Modern Languages. Unique to Middlebury, the D.M.L. prepares teacher-scholars in two modern foreign languages, helping them develop as teachers of second-language acquisition, literature, linguistics, and language pedagogy. Middlebury also offers summer language immersion programs in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish to middle and high school students through the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Bread Loaf School of English is based at the college's Bread Loaf Mountain campus in Ripton, just outside Middlebury, in sight of the main ridge of the Green Mountains. The poet Robert Frost is credited as a major influence on the school. Frost "first came to the School on the invitation of Dean Wilfred Davison in 1921. Friend and neighbor to Bread Loaf, (he) returned to the School every summer with but three exceptions for 42 years." Every summer since 1920, Bread Loaf has offered students from around the United States and the world intensive courses in literature, creative writing, the teaching of writing, and theater. Many prominent faculty and staff have been associated with the college. The C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad, operated by Middlebury College in 17 countries across 5 continents, offer overseas academic programs for undergraduates from various U.S. institutions, as well as graduate-level programs for students from Middlebury College's Language Schools and the Monterey Institute of International Studies.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, was founded by Felix Rohatyn '49, investment banker, former U.S. Ambassador to France, and founder of Rohatyn Associates. Located at the Robert A. Jones '59 House, the center combines Middlebury's strengths in political, linguistic, and cultural studies to offer internationally focused symposia, lectures, and presentations.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity engages in interdisciplinary and comparative approaches for understanding formations of race and ethnicity and their effects on human relations. The Center for Social Entrepreneurship encourages students to develop innovative solutions to address society's most pressing social problems. Programs on Creativity and Innovation (PCI) is a series of initiatives designed to encourage Middlebury students to explore ideas in nonacademic settings.


title: Middlebury College

text: In addition to the six-week summer program, Middlebury College's Bread Loaf campus is also the site of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference for established authors, founded in 1926. It was called by "The New Yorker" "the oldest and most prestigious writers' conference in the country." The conference is administered by director Michael Collier and assistant director Jennifer Grotz. Many prominent members of society have been associated with the Writers' Conference.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Carnegie Foundation classifies Middlebury as one of the "most selective" institutions whose first-year students' test scores places these institutions in roughly the top fifth of baccalaureate institutions. For the class of 2023, the college offered admission to 1,547 students out of an applicant pool of 9,750, yielding an overall acceptance of 15.9%.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury enrolls around 600 students to begin in the fall semester and an additional 100 to begin in the spring. Those accepted for the fall admissions program begin the academic year in September and are referred to as "Regs." Those accepted for the spring admissions program begin the academic year in February and are referred to as "Febs." Students accepted to the Feb program use the fall semester, called a "Febmester," to travel, volunteer, enroll at other universities, or work. Febs graduate in the annual mid-year commencement at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl.


title: Middlebury College

text: Tuition, room, and board at Middlebury is $71,830 for the 2019–20 academic year. For the class entering in 2019–20, the average financial aid grant award is $49,647.


title: Middlebury College

text: "U.S. News & World Report" ranked Middlebury as tied for 9th-best liberal arts college overall in the U.S., tied for 16th out of 63 in "Best Undergraduate Teaching", 21st out of 102 for "Best Value", and tied for 24th out of 50 "Most Innovative" among liberal arts colleges for 2021, and classifies it as "most selective." They also named Middlebury 7th in the nation for "colleges most beloved by their alumni," measured by the percentage of alumni who donate to their school, in 2012.


title: Middlebury College

text: "Washington Monthly" ranked the school 8th in its 2020 liberal arts college rankings based on their contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.


title: Middlebury College

text: "Kiplinger's Personal Finance" places Middlebury at No. 15 in its 2019 ranking of 20 Best College Values in the U.S.


title: Middlebury College

text: The 2016 "Princeton Review" includes Middlebury in "The Best 380 Colleges," and ranks the college 2nd for "Impact Schools," 3rd for "Best Science Lab Facilities," 6th for "Best College Library" and "Students Study the Most," 9th for "Their Students Love These Colleges" and "Top 50 Green Colleges," 13th for "Best Financial Aid" and "Professors Get High Marks," 15th for "Best-Run Colleges," 16th for "Best Classroom Experience," 18th for "Best Quality of Life" and "Happiest Students," 19th for "Least Religious Students," 20th for "Great Financial Aid," and 46th for "Top 50 – Colleges that Pay You Back."


title: Middlebury College

text: The 2015 "Parchment" student choice college ranking, which tracks 441,822 college acceptances of thousands of students who have been accepted to multiple schools in order to reveal their preference for their chosen school compared to the other schools that admitted the student, ranks Middlebury as 9th nationally and 2nd for liberal arts colleges for student preference.


title: Middlebury College

text: The main campus is located in the Champlain Valley between Vermont's Green Mountains to the east and New York's Adirondack Mountains to the west. The campus is situated on a hill to the west of the village of Middlebury, a traditional New England village centered on Otter Creek Falls.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury's campus is characterized by quads and open spaces, views of the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks, and historic granite, marble, and limestone buildings. "Old Stone Row", consisting of the three oldest buildings on campus—Old Chapel, Painter Hall, and Starr Hall—is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Painter Hall, constructed in 1815, is the oldest extant college building in Vermont. Emma Willard House, a National Historic Landmark, hosts the admissions office.


title: Middlebury College

text: Since the mid-1990s, student housing has been grouped into five residential Commons: Atwater, Brainerd, Cook, Ross, and Wonnacott. All are named for illustrious college figures. The creation of the Commons accompanied an increase in the size of the student body and an ambitious building campaign. Many new campus advancements include:


title: Middlebury College

text: In the fall of 1994 the President and Board of Trustees of Middlebury College adopted a "One Percent for Art" policy. This decision set aside one percent of the cost of any renovation or new construction at the college for the purchase, installation, maintenance, and interpretation of works of art publicly displayed on campus. There are 19 works in Middlebury's campus public art collection, including "Frisbee," George Rickey's "Two Open Rectangles, Excentric, Variation VI," Tony Smith's "Smog", and a version of Robert Indiana's "Love" series. The collection also includes works by Dan Graham, Scott Burton, Jules Olitski, Joseph Beuys, Matt Mullican, Jenny Holzer, Christian Petersen, Buky Schwartz, George Rickey, Clement Meadmore, and Jonathan Borofsky.


title: Middlebury College

text: The museum opened in the Mahaney Arts Center (named after alumni Kevin P. Mahaney, '84) in 1992, designed by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer's architectural firm. It was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 2005. The small encyclopedic collection contains Ancient, Asian, European and American art. European painters represented in this art museum include Lippo D'Andrea, Master of the Saint Ursula Legend, Govaert Flinck, Isaac Koedijk, Bartolomeo Bassante, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Giuseppe de Nittis, and Eugene Louis Gabriel Isabey. American painters represented in this art museum include William Jennys, Matthew Jouett, John Kensett, and Roy Lichtenstein. The 20th-century and contemporary collection is particularly strong in prints and photographs.


title: Middlebury College

text: The Bread Loaf Mountain campus hosts the college's Bread Loaf School of English and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference every summer. Middlebury owns the Robert Frost Farm, where American poet Robert Frost lived and wrote in the summer and fall months from 1939 until his death in 1963. This National Historic Landmark occupies adjacent to the Bread Loaf campus. The Bread Loaf campus was opened as a residential living space for undergraduate students during the Fall 2021 semester in response to over-enrollment among the Class of 2026.


title: Middlebury College

text: The mountain campus is the site of the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, the college-owned ski mountain, and the Carroll and Jane Rikert Ski Touring Center. Along with the Dartmouth Skiway, the Snow Bowl is one of two remaining college-owned ski areas in the eastern United States. A volunteer ski patrol, staffed by students, provides on-mountain medical services. Members are certified as Outdoor Emergency Care technicians and trained in first aid, chairlift evacuation, and toboggan handling. The Middlebury College Snow Bowl is host to ski races during the annual Middlebury Winter Carnival as well as the February mid-year graduation.


title: Middlebury College

text: The college is a signatory to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment and the Talloires Declaration. Additionally, the college has committed to be carbon neutral by 2016. Middlebury was one of only six universities to receive a grade of "A−" from the Sustainable Endowments Institute on its College Sustainability Report Card 2008, the highest grade awarded.


title: Middlebury College

text: In the 2008–2009 academic year, Middlebury College opened a new state-of-the-art biomass plant on campus that is estimated to cut the college's carbon dioxide output by 40 percent and reduce its use of fuel oil by 50 percent.


title: Middlebury College

text: In 2010, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Middlebury College announced the creation of the Sustainable Investments Initiative, a co-mingled fiscal vehicle seeking investments that generate long-term social, environmental, and economic value. The Initiative will seek investments focused specifically on sustainability issues such as clean energy, water, climate science, and green building projects, in an effort to identify businesses positioned to become a part of the worldwide shift to improve energy efficiency, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and mitigate the effects of global climate change.


title: Middlebury College

text: Also in 2010, Middlebury College and Integrated Energy Solutions, a Vermont developer of farm-based methane energy, agreed to explore a bio-methane gas collection and delivery system that could help Middlebury further reduce its use of fossil fuels. Middlebury has agreed to purchase bio-methane gas from IES over a 10-year period, with the agreement contingent on the college raising money to build storage facilities for the gas on campus and retrofit its current heating plant to burn the new fuel.


title: Middlebury College

text: The 2013 "Princeton Review" ranks Middlebury as one of the top 20 schools in the US for "best quality of life." There are over 140 registered student organizations at Middlebury. Students register for organizations of interest during the Fall Activities Fair in September.


title: Middlebury College

text: "The Middlebury Campus" is the student weekly of Middlebury College. "The Campus" was founded in 1900, and employs a 100% student staff. In 2019, the "Middlebury Independent", a monthly journal, was established.


title: Middlebury College

text: "The Local Noodle", a satirical student publication founded in 2016, publishes multiple times a semester and maintains a consistent online presence.


title: Middlebury College

text: WRMC-FM 91.1 is the student-volunteer-run radio station of Middlebury. WRMC broadcasts a variety of content types, including talk, news, and radio drama, although the majority of the schedule is music.


title: Middlebury College

text: The median family income of Middlebury students is $244,300, with 53% of students coming from the top 5% highest-earning families and 14.2% from the bottom 60%. As of the 2019 school year, the student body consisted of 53% women and 47% men.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury's Winter Carnival is the oldest student-run winter carnival in the country, started in 1923. The Winter Carnival is a weekend-long event and traditionally includes a bonfire and fireworks on the opening night, ski races at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl on Friday and Saturday, and the Winter Ball on Saturday night.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury offers a mid-year graduation for those students who complete coursework at the end of January. These students are usually "Febs," students who began their Middlebury careers as February first-years. The mid-year graduation tradition is for all graduating seniors to ski down the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in their caps and gowns to receive their diplomas.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury Outdoor Programs organizes outdoor orientations for incoming students in September and February. These orientations involve several days of hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, snowshoeing, and other activities in the wilderness around Middlebury.


title: Middlebury College

text: Following the New Traditions Contest initiated by President Laurie Patton in the spring of 2018, Middlebury held its first Panther Day on October 20, 2018. The new tradition was held during Homecoming Weekend and included a parade of student clubs and organizations, in an effort to build school spirit. A group of student protesters lined the side of the parade route to call attention to the lack of support by the college for survivors of sexual assault. Protesters silently held signs with phrases including “We believe survivors, Midd should too” and “Green Dot is not enough” (Green Dot refers to a College initiative to train students to intervene in situations of potential sexual violence, specifically focused on parties as sites of sexual violence).


title: Middlebury College

text: The "New England Review" ("NER") is a quarterly literary journal published by Middlebury College. Founded in New Hampshire in 1978 by poet, novelist, editor and professor Sydney Lea and poet Jay Parini, it was published as "New England Review & Bread Loaf Quarterly" from 1982 (when it moved to Middlebury College), until 1991 as a formal division of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. In 1991, the magazine reverted to its original name, "New England Review", and opted to have only informal ties with the Writers' Conference.


title: Middlebury College

text: "NER" publishes poetry, fiction, translations, and a wide variety of non-fiction in each issue. "NER" consistently publishes work from established writers as well as work from up-and-coming new writers. It has published work by many who have gone on to win major awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.


title: Middlebury College

text: Middlebury competes in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Panthers lead the NESCAC in total number of National Championships, having won 33 team championships since the conference lifted its ban on NCAA play in 1994. Middlebury enjoys national success in soccer, tennis, cross country running, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, and skiing, and fields 31 varsity NCAA teams and several competitive club teams. Since 2000, Middlebury's varsity squads have won 54 NESCAC titles. Currently, 28% of students participate in varsity sports.


title: Middlebury College

text: In the early 20th century, Middlebury's traditional athletic rivals included the University of Vermont and Norwich University. In football, Middlebury is rivals with Hamilton College; the rivalry dates to 1911 and since 1980 the game between the two schools has been called the "Rocking Chair Classic," with the Mack-Jack Rocking Chair going to the winner (Middlebury has historically dominated the rivalry).


title: Middlebury College

text: The real-life version of Quidditch was brought to life in 2005 at Middlebury College, by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe, who later became the first commissioner of quidditch. It has grown into its own separate and distinct sport after 15 publications of rulebooks.


title: Island (South Korean TV series)

text: Island () is an upcoming South Korean web series starring Kim Nam-gil, Lee Da-hee, Cha Eun-woo, and Sung Joon. It is scheduled for release on TVING and Amazon Prime Video on December 30, 2022.


title: Island (South Korean TV series)

text: On December 20, 2021, it was reported that actress Lee Da-hee was injured while filming. Later in the day, the actress's agency confirmed that she suffered a neck injury.


title: Lists of airlines

text: Lists of airlines cover existing and defunct airlines. Complete lists are given in alphabetical sequence by the name of the continent from which they operate.


title: Lists of airlines

text: There are over 5,000 airlines with ICAO codes. The world's largest airline by fleet size and passengers carried is American Airlines, operating from the United States.


title: History of Thailand

text: The Tai ethnic group migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of centuries. The word "Siam" ( ) may have originated from Pali ("suvaṇṇabhūmi", "land of gold") or Sanskrit श्याम ("śyāma", "dark") or Mon ရာမည ("rhmañña", "stranger"), probably the same root as Shan and Ahom. "Xianluo" () was the Chinese name for Ayutthaya Kingdom, merged from Suphannaphum city state centered in modern-day Suphan Buri and Lavo city state centered in modern-day Lop Buri. To the Thai, the name has mostly been "Mueang Thai".


title: History of Thailand

text: The country's designation as Siam by Westerners likely came from the Portuguese. Portuguese chronicles noted that the Borommatrailokkanat, king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, sent an expedition to the Malacca Sultanate at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in 1455. Following their conquest of Malacca in 1511, the Portuguese sent a diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya. A century later, on 15 August 1612, "The Globe", an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, arrived in "the Road of Syam". "By the end of the 19th century, "Siam" had become so enshrined in geographical nomenclature that it was believed that by this name and no other would it continue to be known and styled."


title: History of Thailand

text: Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, the Khmer Empire and Malay states of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra ruled the region. The Thai established their states: Ngoenyang, the Sukhothai Kingdom, the Kingdom of Chiang Mai, Lan Na, and the Ayutthaya Kingdom. These states fought each other and were under constant threat from the Khmers, Burma and Vietnam. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, only Thailand survived European colonial threat in Southeast Asia due to centralising reforms enacted by King Chulalongkorn and because the French and the British decided it would be a neutral territory to avoid conflicts between their colonies. After the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand endured sixty years of almost permanent military rule before the establishment of a democratically elected government.


title: History of Thailand

text: Mainland Southeast Asia had been a home to various indigenous communities for thousands of years. The discovery of Homo erectus fossils such as Lampang man is an example of archaic hominids. The remains were first discovered during excavations in Lampang Province. The finds have been dated from roughly 1,000,000–500,000 years ago in the Pleistocene. Stone artefacts dating to 40,000 years ago have been recovered from, e.g., Tham Lod rockshelter in Mae Hong Son and Lang Rongrien Rockshelter in Krabi, peninsular Thailand. The archaeological data between 18,000–3,000 years ago primarily derive from cave and rock shelter sites, and are associated with Hoabinhian foragers.


title: History of Thailand

text: There are many sites in present-day Thailand dating to the Bronze (1500–500 BCE) and Iron Ages (500 BCE-500 CE). The site of Ban Chiang (around Udon Thani Province) currently ranks as the earliest known center of copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia and has been dated to around 2,000 years BCE. Thailand also participated in the Maritime Jade Road, which existed for 3,000 years, from 2000 BCE to 1000 CE.


title: History of Thailand

text: The oldest known records of a political entity in Indochina are attributed to Funan - centered in the Mekong Delta and comprising territories inside modern day Thailand. Chinese annals confirm Funan's existence as early as the 1st century CE. Archaeological documentation implies an extensive human settlement history since the 4th century BCE.


title: History of Thailand

text: The region also hosted a number of indigenous Austroasiatic-speaking and Malayo-Sumbawan-speaking civilisations. However, little is known about Thailand before the 13th century, as the literary and concrete sources are scarce and most of the knowledge about this period is gleaned from archaeological evidence. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, starting with the Kingdom of Funan around the first century until the Khmer Empire. These "Indianised kingdoms" are composing of Dvaravati, Srivijaya and the Khmer Empire. E. A. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Thailand from India at the time of the Indian emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire and into the first millennium. Later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire.


title: History of Thailand

text: The Chao Phraya River in what is now central Thailand had once been the home of the Mon Dvaravati culture, which prevailed from the 7th century to the 10th century. Samuel Beal discovered the polity among the Chinese writings on Southeast Asia as "Duoluobodi". During the early 20th century archaeological excavations led by George Coedès found Nakhon Pathom Province to be a centre of Dvaravati culture. The two most important sites were Nakorn Pathom and U Thong (in modern Suphan Buri Province). The inscriptions of Dvaravati were in Sanskrit and Mon using the script derived from the Pallava alphabet of the South Indian Pallava dynasty.


title: History of Thailand

text: The religion of Dvaravati is thought to be Theravada Buddhism through contacts with Sri Lanka, with the ruling class also participating in Hindu rites. Dvaravati art, including the Buddha sculptures and stupas, showed strong similarities to those of the Gupta Empire of India. The eastern parts of the Chao Phraya valley were subjected to a more Khmer and Hindu influence as the inscriptions are found in Khmer and Sanskrit.


title: History of Thailand

text: Dvaravati was a network of city-states paying tribute to more powerful ones according to the mandala political model. Dvaravati culture expanded into Isan as well as south as far as the Kra Isthmus. The culture lost power around the 10th century when they submitted to the more unified Lavo-Khmer polity.


title: History of Thailand

text: Around the 10th century, the city-states of Dvaravati merged into two mandalas, the Lavo (modern Lopburi) and the Suvarnabhumi (modern Suphan Buri). According to a legend in the Northern Chronicles, in 903, a king of Tambralinga invaded and took Lavo and installed a Malay prince on the Lavo throne. The Malay prince was married to a Khmer princess who had fled an Angkorian dynastic bloodbath. The son of the couple contested the Khmer throne and became Suryavarman I, thus bringing Lavo under Khmer domination through the marital union. Suryavarman I also expanded into the Khorat Plateau (later styled "Isan"), constructing many temples.


title: History of Thailand

text: Suryavarman, however, had no male heirs and again Lavo was independent. After the death of King Narai of Lavo, however, Lavo was plunged into bloody civil war and the Khmer under Suryavarman II took advantage by invading Lavo and installing his son as the King of Lavo. The repeated but discontinued Khmer domination eventually Khmerized Lavo. Lavo was transformed from a Theravadin Mon Dvaravati city into a Hindu Khmer one. Lavo became the entrepôt of Khmer culture and power of the Chao Phraya river basin. The bas-relief at Angkor Wat shows a Lavo army as one of the subordinates to Angkor. One interesting note is that a Tai army was shown as a part of Lavo army, a century before the establishment of the "Sukhothai Kingdom".


title: History of Thailand

text: Below the Kra Isthmus was the place of Malay civilisations. Primordial Malay kingdoms are described as tributaries to Funan by second-century Chinese sources, though most of them proved to be tribal organisations instead of full-fledged kingdoms. From the sixth century on, two major mandalas ruled southern Thailand, the Kanduli and the Langkasuka. Kanduli centred on what is now Surat Thani Province and Langasuka in Pattani Province.


title: History of Thailand

text: Southern Thailand was the centre of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism. The Tang monk Yijing stopped at Langkasuka to study Pali grammar and Mahayana during his journey to India around 800. At that time, the kingdoms of Southern Thailand quickly fell under the influences of the Malay kingdom of Srivijaya from Sumatra. Tamil King Rajendra Chola I, The Great, of the Chola dynasty invaded the Tambralinga Kingdom in southern Thailand in the 11th century.


title: History of Thailand

text: According to the "Cāmadevivaṃsa", the city of Hariphunchai (modern Lamphun) was founded by hermits. Camadevi, a princess of the Lavo Kingdom, was invited to rule the city around 700. However, this date is considered too early for the foundation of Hariphunchai as Camadevi brought no dharmachakras to the north. Hariphunchai may be a later (10th century) offshoot of the Lavo Kingdom or instead related to the Thaton Kingdom.


title: History of Thailand

text: Hariphunchai was the centre of Theravada in the north. The kingdom flourished during the reign of King Attayawong who built Wat Phra That Hariphunchai in 1108. The kingdom had strong relations with the Mon Kingdom of Thaton. During the 11th century, Hariphunchai waged lengthy wars with the Tai Ngoenyang Kingdom of Chiang Saen. Weakened by Tai invasions, Hariphunchai eventually fell in 1293 to Mangrai, king of Lan Na, the successor state of the Ngoenyang Kingdom.


title: History of Thailand

text: The most recent and accurate theory about the origin of the Tai people stipulates that Guangxi in China is really the Tai motherland instead of Yunnan. A large number of Tai people known as the Zhuang still live in Guangxi today. Around 700 AD, Tai people who did not come under Chinese influence settled in what is now Điện Biên Phủ in modern Vietnam according to the Khun Borom legend. Based on layers of Chinese loanwords in proto-Southwestern Tai and other historical evidence, Pittayawat Pittayaporn (2014) proposed that this migration must have taken place sometime between the 8th–10th centuries. Tai speaking tribes migrated southwestward along the rivers and over the lower passes into Southeast Asia, perhaps prompted by the Chinese expansion and suppression. Chinese historical texts record that, in 722, 400,000 'Lao' rose in revolt behind a leader who declared himself the king of Nanyue in Guangdong. After the 722 revolt, some 60,000 were beheaded. In 726, after the suppression of a rebellion by a 'Lao' leader in the present-day Guangxi, over 30,000 rebels were captured and beheaded. In 756, another revolt attracted 200,000 followers and lasted four years. In the 860s, many local people in what is now North Vietnam sided with attackers from Nanchao, and in the aftermath, some 30,000 of them were beheaded. In the 1040s, a powerful matriarch-shamaness by the name of A Nong, her chiefly husband, and their son, Nong Zhigao, raised a revolt, took Nanning, besieged Guangzhou for fifty seven days, and slew the commanders of five Chinese armies sent against them before they were defeated, and many of their leaders were killed. As a result of these three bloody centuries, the Tai began to migrate southwestward.


title: History of Thailand

text: The "Simhanavati legend" tells us that a Tai chief named Simhanavati drove out the native Wa people and founded the city of Chiang Saen around 800 CE. For the first time, the Tai people made contact with the Theravadin Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia. Through Hariphunchai, the Tais of Chiang Saen embraced Theravada Buddhism and Sanskrit royal names. Wat Phrathat Doi Tong, constructed around 850, signified the piety of Tai people on the Theravada Buddhism. Around 900, major wars were fought between Chiang Saen and Hariphunchai. Mon forces captured Chiang Saen and its king fled. In 937, Prince Prom the Great took Chiang Saen back from the Mon and inflicted severe defeats on Hariphunchai.


title: History of Thailand

text: Around 1000 CE, Chiang Saen was destroyed by an earthquake with many inhabitants killed. A council was established to govern the kingdom for a while, and then a local Wa man known as Lavachakkaraj was elected king of the new city of Chiang Saen or Ngoenyang. The Lavachakkaraj dynasty would rule over the region for about 500 years.


title: History of Thailand

text: Overpopulation might have encouraged the Tais to seek their fortune further southwards. By 1100 CE, the Tai had established themselves as "Po Khun"s (ruling fathers) at Nan, Phrae, Songkwae, Sawankhalok, and Chakangrao on the upper Chao Phraya River. These southern Tai princes faced Khmer influence from the Lavo Kingdom. Some of them became subordinates to it.


title: History of Thailand

text: Thai city-states gradually became independent of the weakened Khmer Empire. It is said that Sukhothai Kingdom was established as a strong sovereign kingdom by Sri Indraditya in 1238 AC. A political feature which "classic" Thai historians call "father governs children" existed at this time. Everybody could bring their problems to the king directly, as there was a bell in front of the palace for this purpose. The city briefly dominated the area under King Ram Khamhaeng, who tradition and legend states established the Thai alphabet, but after his death in 1365, Sukhothai fell into decline and became subject to another emerging Thai state, the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the lower Chao Phraya area.


title: History of Thailand

text: Another Thai state that coexisted with Sukhothai was the eastern state of Lan Na centred in Chiang Mai. King Mangrai was its founder. This city-state emerged in the same period as Sukhothai. Evidently, Lan Na became closely allied with Sukhothai. After the Ayutthaya Kingdom had emerged and expanded its influence from the Chao Phraya valley, Sukhothai was finally subdued. Fierce battles between Lan Na and Ayutthaya also constantly took place and Chiang Mai was eventually subjugated, becoming Ayutthaya's vassal.


title: History of Thailand

text: Lan Na's independent history ended in 1558, when it finally fell to the Burmese. It was dominated by Burma until the late-18th century. Local leaders then rose up against the Burmese with the help of the rising Thai kingdom of Thonburi of King Taksin. The "Northern City-States" then became vassals of the lower Thai kingdoms of Thonburi and Bangkok. In the early 20th century they were annexed and became part of modern Siam, the country that is now called "Thailand".


title: History of Thailand

text: The city of Ayutthaya was on a small island, encircled by three rivers. Due to its defensible location, Ayutthaya quickly became powerful, politically, and economically. Ayutthaya's name is derived from Ayodhya, an Indian holy city.


title: History of Thailand

text: The first ruler of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, King Uthong (r. 1351–1369), made two important contributions to Thai history: the establishment and promotion of Theravada Buddhism as the official religion to differentiate his kingdom from the neighbouring Hindu kingdom of Angkor and the compilation of the "Dharmaśāstra", a legal code based on Hindu sources and traditional Thai custom. The "Dharmaśāstra" remained a tool of Thai law until late in the 19th century.


title: History of Thailand

text: In 1511 Duke Afonso de Albuquerque dispatched Duarte Fernandes as an envoy to the Ayutthaya Kingdom, known then to Europeans as the "Kingdom of Siam". This contact with the West during the 16th century led to a period of economic growth as lucrative trade routes were established. Ayutthaya became one of the most prosperous cities in Southeast Asia. According to George Modelski, Ayutthaya is estimated to have been the largest city in the world in 1700 CE, with a population around one million. Trade flourished, with the Dutch and Portuguese among the most active foreigners in the kingdom, together with the Chinese and Malayans. Even Luzones warriors from the Philippines were also present.


title: History of Thailand

text: The Ayutthaya Period is known as the golden age of Thai literature, Art and Trade with the eastern and western world. The Ayutthaya period was also considered as "a golden age of medicine in Thailand" due to progress in the field of medicine at that time.


title: History of Thailand

text: Starting in the middle of the 16th century, the kingdom came under repeated attacks by the Taungoo Dynasty of Burma. The Burmese–Siamese War (1547–49) began with a Burmese invasion and a failed siege of Ayutthaya. A second siege (1563–64) led by King Bayinnaung forced King Maha Chakkraphat to surrender in 1564. The royal family was taken to Bago, Burma, with the king's second son Mahinthrathirat installed as a vassal king. In 1568, Mahinthrathirat revolted when his father managed to return from Bago as a Buddhist monk. The ensuing third siege captured Ayutthaya in 1569 and Bayinnaung made Mahathammarachathirat his vassal king.


title: History of Thailand

text: After Bayinnaung's death in 1581, Uparaja Naresuan proclaimed Ayutthaya's independence in 1584. The Thai fought off repeated Burmese invasions (1584–1593), capped by an elephant duel between King Naresuan and Burmese heir-apparent Mingyi Swa in 1593 during the fourth siege of Ayutthaya in which Naresuan famously slew Mingyi Swa. The Burmese–Siamese War (1594–1605) was a Thai attack on Burma, resulting in the capture of the Tanintharyi Region as far as Mottama in 1595 and Lan Na in 1602. Naresuan even invaded mainland Burma as far as Taungoo in 1600, but was driven back.


title: History of Thailand

text: Ayutthaya expanded its sphere of influence over a considerable area, ranging from the Islamic states on the Malay Peninsula, the Andaman seaports of present-day India, the Angkor kingdom of Cambodia, to states in northern Thailand. In the 18th century, the power of the Ayutthaya Kingdom gradually declined as fighting between princes and officials plagued its politics. Outlying principalities became more and more independent, ignoring the capital's orders and decrees.


title: History of Thailand

text: In the 18th century, the last phase of the kingdom arrived. The Bamar people, who had taken control of Lan Na and had also unified their kingdom under the powerful Konbaung Dynasty, launched several blows against Ayutthaya in the 1750s and 1760s. Finally, in 1767, after several months of siege, the Burmese broke through Ayutthaya's outer and inner walls, sacked the city, and burned it down. The royal family fled the city and Ayutthaya's last king, Ekkathat, died of starvation ten days later while in hiding.


title: History of Thailand

text: After more than 400 years of power, in 1767, the Kingdom of Ayutthaya was brought down by invading Burmese armies, its capital burned, and the territory split. Despite its complete defeat and occupation by Burma, Siam made a rapid recovery. The resistance to Burmese rule was led by a noble of Chinese descent, Taksin, a capable military leader. Initially based at Chanthaburi in the southeast, within a year he had defeated the Burmese occupation army and re-established a Siamese state with its capital at Thonburi on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, 20 km from the sea. In 1767 he was crowned as King Taksin (now officially known as "Taksin the Great").


title: History of Thailand

text: After the sacking of Ayutthaya, the country had fallen apart, due to the disappearance of the central authority. Besides King Taksin, who had organised his force in the southeastern provinces, Prince Teppipit, King Boromakot's son, who had been unsuccessful in a diversionary action against the Burmese in 1766, had set himself up as the ruler of Phimai holding sway over the eastern provinces including Nakhon Ratchasima or Khorat, while the Governor of Phitsanulok, whose first name was Ruang (Thai:เรือง), had proclaimed himself independent, with the territory under his control extending to the province of Nakhon Sawan. North of Phitsanulok was the town of Sawangburi (known as Fang in Uttaradit Province), where a Buddhist monk named Ruan had made himself a prince, appointing fellow monks as army commanders. He had himself pursued Buddhist studies at Ayutthaya with such excellent results that he had been appointed the chief monk of Sawangburi by King Boromakot. The southern provinces as far north as Chumphon, a Pra Palad who was the acting Governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat declared his independence and raised himself to a princely rank.