Background.

While Prince's previous albums were primarily solo recordings by Prince, "Purple Rain" contained the credits "produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince and the Revolution.", though he had teased the name two years earlier on "1999", writing "and the Revolution" backwards on the album cover. The album was mostly recorded between August 1983 and March 1984, the exception being "Baby I'm A Star", composed and demoed in 1981. The last three songs on the album, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and the title track "Purple Rain", were recorded live at the 3 August 1983, First Avenue show in Mineappolis, although overdubs and edits took place on all three in September 1983; this marked Prince's first album to include live recordings.  Regarding the meaning of "Purple Rain", both Mikel Toombs of "The San Diego Union" and Bob Kostanczuk of the "Post-Tribune" have written that Prince took the title "Purple Rain" from lyrics in the America song "Ventura Highway". Asked to explain the phrase "purple rain" in "Ventura Highway," Gerry Beckley responded: "You got me." However, Prince explained the meaning of "Purple Rain" as follows: "When there's blood in the sky – red and blue = purple... purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain." "Purple Rain" was originally written as a country song and intended to be a collaboration with Stevie Nicks. According to Nicks, she received a 10-minute instrumental version of the song from Prince with a request to write the lyrics, but felt overwhelmed. She said: "I listened to it and I just got scared. I called him back and said, 'I can't do it. I wish I could. It's too much for me.'" At a rehearsal, Prince then asked his backing band to try the song: "I want to try something before we go home. It's mellow." According to the Revolution member Lisa Coleman, Prince then changed the song after the Revolution's Wendy Melvoin started playing guitar chords to accompany the song: "He was excited to hear it voiced differently. It took it out of that country feeling. Then we all started playing it a bit harder and taking it more seriously. We played it for six hours straight and by the end of that day we had it mostly written and arranged."  "Take Me with U" was written for the Apollonia 6 album "Apollonia 6" (1984), but later enlisted for "Purple Rain". The inclusion of that song necessitated cuts to the suite-like "Computer Blue", the full version of which did not earn an official release, although a portion of the second section can be heard in the film of the same name, in a sequence where Prince walks in on the men of the Revolution rehearsing. The risqué lyrics of "Darling Nikki" contributed to the use of Parental Advisory stickers and imprints on album covers that were the record label's answer to complaints from Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).  Prince wrote and composed the album's lead single "When Doves Cry" after all the other tracks were complete on "Purple Rain". In addition to providing vocals, he played all instruments on the track. With there being no bass line, the song's production is noted for being unconventionally bare in comparison to 1980s pop hits. Prince said that there originally was a bass line but, after a conversation with singer Jill Jones, he decided that the song was too conventional with it included.

Composition.

Like Prince's previous albums, nearly all tracks on "Purple Rain" were written by him. "Purple Rain" was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments. As a soundtrack record, much of the music had a grandiose, synthesized, and even—by some evaluations—a psychedelic sheen to the production and performances. The music on "Purple Rain" is generally regarded as the most pop-oriented of Prince's career, though a number of elements point towards the more experimental records Prince would release after "Purple Rain". Apollonia 6 member Apollonia recalled that after watching the "Purple Rain" cinematographic takes, she told Prince, "You know you’re going to get an Oscar for this movie—not for the acting, but for the music."  The Revolution member Doctor Fink told "PopMatters" in 2009 that the recording of the album was "a very creative time...There was a lot of influence and input from band members towards what [Prince] was doing. He was always open to anybody trying to contribute creatively to the process of writing...But Prince was the main lyricist and melody maker for all the songs...and never took any lyrical content from people." Melvoin told "Mojo" in 1997 that the band members were "absolute musical equals in the sense that Prince respected us, and allowed us to contribute to the music without any interference...I think the secret to our working relationship was that we were very non-possessive about our ideas, as opposed to some other people that have worked with him."  The album's fourth track "Computer Blue" features songwriting input by the Revolution members Doctor Fink, who also wrote a keyboard bass line for the track, Coleman, and Melvoin. Regarding the track, Doctor Fink said he "started playing that main bass groove which later became "Computer Blue""". So the band [the Revolution] started grooving on it, and Prince started coming up with some stuff, then we recorded a rough version and he took it into the studio and just incorporated it all and made it fly that way. Wendy [Melovin] and Lisa [Coleman] did some of the stuff on it. Prince borrowed the bridge/portal section from the then unreleased Father's Song, by his father [jazz musician John L. Nelson], who had given him some music over the years to play around with. So the song was a real mixture of different people and influences."  The full band appears on four tracks: "Let's Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm A Star" and "Purple Rain". Melvoin and Coleman also appear on "Computer Blue", while the remainder of the tracks are essentially solo performances by Prince. Apollonia sings co-lead on "Take Me With U". Three of the tracks include a string section arranged by Coleman and Prince which were conducted by Coleman and Melvoin: "Take Me With U", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". The string players are violin and viola player Novi Novog and cellists David Coleman and Suzie Katayama.

Release.

In the United States, "Purple Rain" debuted at number 11 on the "Billboard" 200 the week of July 14, 1984. After four weeks on chart, it reached number one on August 4, 1984. The album spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the "Billboard" 200 from August 4, 1984 to January 18, 1985, and more than 32 weeks in the top 10, becoming one of the most successful soundtracks ever. Prince also joined Elvis Presley and the Beatles in being the only artists to have the number-one album, single and film in the US all at the same time. It traded the number one position on the chart with Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." twice, during 1984 and 1985. "Purple Rain" was present on the "Billboard" 200 for one hundred twenty two weeks. After the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 3 million copies. By 1996, the album had sold 13 million copies in the United States, making it certified 13x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  In the United Kingdom, "Purple Rain" entered the UK Albums Chart at number 21 on July 21, 1984, after thirty five weeks on the chart it reached and peaked at number seven during the week of March 16, 1985 and stayed there for a week, it fell off to number twelve the next week. The album remained on the chart for 86 weeks. It was certified 2x Platinum by the BPI on May 1, 1990 denoting shipments of 600,000 units. By 1988, "Purple Rain" had sold 17 million copies worldwide making it one of the most successful albums of the 1980s. Its sales as of 2008 stood at over 25 million copies worldwide. The album is also multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  In 2017, the deluxe remastered reissue of "Purple Rain" was released. It is the first Prince album to be remastered and reissued, and was released in a variety of formats, including a 20-track deluxe edition with unreleased bonus tracks and a 35-track expanded edition with additional B-sides, rarities and a live DVD of the Purple Rain Tour from 1985. The album debuted at number four on the "Billboard" 200 at with 52,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week. It also debuted at number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, its highest peak in 32 years having previously spent 19 weeks atop the chart in 1984. Additionally, the album debuted at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart and the Vinyl Albums chart.

Promotion.

Tour.

The Purple Rain Tour began at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in November 1984. In addition to Prince and the Revolution, the Purple Rain Tour featured Apollonia 6, and Sheila E. and her band. The tour opened with the album's opener, "Let's Go Crazy". A triple of singles from "1999" (1982) followed: "Delirious", "1999" and "Little Red Corvette". An instrumental interlude of "Yankee Doodle" usually introduced another song from "1999", "Free". The B-side "God" was often played, followed by a usual sequence of "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "The Beautiful Ones" and "When Doves Cry". As encores, the remaining "Purple Rain" songs closed the concert, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star" and "Purple Rain". The tour span 98 shows, ending in April 1985, and sold 1.7 million tickets. Prince and the Revolution played the final date of the tour, to an audience of 55,000 in Miami's Orange Bowl. Prince ended the show saying, "I have to go now. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I want you to know that God loves you. He loves us all." Two weeks after the end of the tour, "Around the World in a Day" (1985) was released, which officially brought an end to Prince's "Purple Rain" era. The tour was considered by "Rolling Stone" as "groundbreaking in many ways" because it introduced Prince's most "elaborate" sets and featured occasional cameos from Bruce Springsteen and Madonna, which confirmed Prince's place as "pop’s most commanding star" during the "Purple Rain" era.

Singles.

"Purple Rain"'s lead single "When Doves Cry" was Prince's first "Billboard" Hot 100 number-one single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. It was ranked number one on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. The music video, directed by Prince himself, was premiered on MTV in June 1984. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought that its sexual nature was too explicit for television. "Let's Go Crazy" became Prince's second number-one hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil. A power ballad and a combination of rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music, "Purple Rain" reached number 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and stayed there for two weeks. "I Would Die 4 U" was the fourth and final "Billboard" Hot 100 top 10 hit from "Purple Rain", reaching number eight on the chart. The album's final single, "Take Me with U", was released on January 25, 1985.

Critical reception.

Kurt Loder, writing for "Rolling Stone", compared Prince to Jimi Hendrix and praised him for merging "black and white styles": "The spirit of Jimi Hendrix must surely smile down on Prince Rogers Nelson. Like Hendrix, Prince seems to have tapped into some extraterrestrial musical dimension where black and white styles are merely different aspects of the same funky thing. Prince’s rock & roll is as authentic and compelling as his soul and his extremism is endearing in a era of play-it-safe record production and formulaic hit mongering."  Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that "Purple Rain" finds Prince "consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal," as well as "push[ing] heavily into psychedelia" under the influence of the Revolution. Erlewine identifies the record's nine songs as "uncompromising... forays into pop" and "stylistic experiments", echoing general sentiment that "Purple Rain"s music represented Prince at his most popular without forsaking his experimental bent. In a retrospective review, Kenneth Partridge, writing for "Billboard", described the album's opening track, "Let's Go Crazy", as "arguably the best intro in pop history".  In addition to the "Purple Rain"'s breakthrough sales, music critics noted the innovative and experimental aspects of the soundtrack's music, most famously on the spare, bass-less "When Doves Cry". Other aspects of the music, especially its synthesis of electronic elements with organic instrumentation and full-band performances (some, as noted above, recorded live) along with its landmark consolidation of rock and R&B, were identified by critics as distinguishing, even experimental factors.  Prince and the Revolution won a 1984 Grammy Award for "Purple Rain", for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, the four composers (Nelson, Coleman, Prince, and Melvoin) won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, and the album was nominated for Album of the Year. Prince won a third Grammy that year for Best R&B Song for Chaka Khan's cover of "I Feel for You". "Purple Rain" also won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score in 1985. "Purple Rain" posthumously won Top Soundtrack at the American Music Awards in 2016.

Legacy.

"Purple Rain" further established Prince as a figurehead for pop music of the 1980s and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2010, "Purple Rain" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2012, the album was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important". In 2019, the film "Purple Rain" was added by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Jon Bon Jovi, lead singer of the rock band Bon Jovi, observed that "There's every emotion [in "Purple Rain"] from the ballad to the rocker" and "All the influences were evident, from Hendrix to Chic." Lionel Richie praised Prince for making a "very important step" in advancing the concept from creating music videos for songs to making a motion picture for an album. Partridge of "Billboard" emphasized Prince's popularity during the "Purple Rain" era, writing, Described as a'masterpiece' by the Grammy Awards, Ana Yglesias wrote, "Even after his heartbreaking passing, Prince will live on forever in our hearts, through his music, and even on the charts. "Purple Rain" was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011, celebrating it as a "recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance."...It is safe to say there will never be another star quite like Prince." For "The New Yorker", Ben Greenmane wrote, ""Purple Rain" may or may not be Prince's best record, but it came at the best time, propelling him from ordinary stardom (his previous album "1999" put three singles into the "Billboard" top 20) to supernova status. It created his iconic look (ruffled shirt, purple jacket, motorcycle), formally introduced his most famous backing band (the Revolution), and included the lion's share of the songs most likely to appear in a capsule bio ("When Doves Cry," "Let’s Go Crazy," and the title track)." In "Rolling Stone"'s list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, "Purple Rain" was described as "an epic celebration of everything rock & roll, which means sex and religion and eyeliner and motorcycles and guitars and Lake Minnetonka." Chris Gerard wrote for "PopMatters" that ""Purple Rain" is one of the cornerstone albums not just of the ‘80s, but in all of pop/rock history...at the core of [Prince's] legacy "Purple Rain" will always stand as his signature triumph, a monument to his boundless talent and ambition." Gerard also praised "When Doves Cry" for being the "gateway" to the ""Purple Rain" universe: an album, a major motion picture, and a tour that dominated the pop culture landscape of 1984."Andrew Unterberger of "Billboard" gave the album high appraisal, regarding it as one of the greatest albums in popular music: ""Purple Rain" is certainly in contention for the most perfect album in rock or pop history, expertly flowing from track to track while delighting, surprising and astounding at each bend. Personal and universal, familiar and challenging, romantic and narcissistic, religious and orgasmic, accessible to all and profoundly weird, "Purple Rain" rightly remains the cornerstone of Prince’s recorded legacy, almost too obvious in its brilliance to even be worth discussing at length." Writing for "Pitchfork", Carvell Wallace appraised the album's impact and Prince's musicianship, "With "Purple Rain", Prince bursts forth from the ghetto created by mainstream radio and launches himself directly onto the Mt. Rushmore of American music. He plays rock better than rock musicians, composes better than jazz guys, and performs better than everyone, all without ever abandoning his roots as a funk man, a party leader, a true MC...for the 24 weeks "Purple Rain" spent atop the charts in 1984, the black kid from the midwest had managed to become the most accurate expression we had of young America’s overabundance of angst, love, horniness, recklessness, idealism, and hope."  "Rolling Stone" ranked "Purple Rain" number two on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s and number 76 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In their list of The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, "Purple Rain" was ranked 2nd, behind the Beatles' "Help!". "Time" included it in its list of the All-TIME 100 Albums. The album was ranked 18th on VH1's "Greatest Rock and Roll Albums of All Time" countdown. "The Times" ranked "Purple Rain" at number 15 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time. In 2007, the editors of "Vanity Fair" labeled it the best soundtrack of all time, and "Tempo" magazine named it the greatest album of the 1980s. In 2008, "Entertainment Weekly" ranked "Purple Rain" at number one on their list of the Top 100 Best Albums of the Previous 25 years. The album was included in the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". In 2009, it was included in Christ Smith's book of the "101 Albums That Changed Popular Music". In 2012, "Slant Magazine" ranked the album at number two on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s. In 2013, "Entertainment Weekly" also ranked the album at number two on their list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever. "Pitchfork" regarded it as the best album of the 1980s, ranking it at number one on its list of The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s. In "Billboard"'s list of All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take, "Purple Rain" was ranked first.

Track listing.

All songs written by Prince, except where noted.

Deluxe and Deluxe Expanded editions.

The album was released as a "Deluxe" and "Deluxe Expanded" edition on June 23, 2017. The "Deluxe" edition consists of two discs, the first being a remaster of the original album made in 2015 overseen by Prince himself and a bonus disc of previously unreleased songs called "From the Vault & Previously Unreleased". The "Deluxe Expanded" edition consists of two more discs, a disc with all the single edits, maxi-single edits and B-sides from the "Purple Rain" era and a DVD with a concert from the Purple Rain Tour filmed in Syracuse, New York on March 30, 1985, previously released on in 1985.

Personnel.

Information taken from the Prince Vault website

Early configurations.

Prince configured at least two unique track listings of "Purple Rain" prior to setting the final running order. November 7, 1983 and March 23, 1984 configurations are listed below. The early configuration included "Wednesday" (a song by Prince with Jill Jones) and "Father's Song". The latter was replaced by "When Doves Cry". Edits to "Let's Go Crazy" and "Computer Blue" were introduced in order to include "Take Me with U" in the final running configuration. The full length version of "Let's Go Crazy", as it can be seen in the movie, would later be released as "Special Dance Mix" on 12" maxi-single.

Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, released on June 25, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records. It is the first to feature the billing of his band the Revolution, and is the soundtrack to the 1984 film of the same name. "Purple Rain" was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.

紫雨电影原声带 (简称为紫雨)是在1984年由Prince和The Revolution创作的。它由华纳唱片发行,是Prince的第六张专辑。在美国,这张唱片卖出了一千三百万张,获得了美国唱片行业协会颁发的钻石奖。根据Billboard杂志的纪录,此张电影原声带在专辑榜连续蝉连24周冠军,成为有史以来最伟大的电影原声之一。根据一条消息来源,这张唱片在其开售的第一日就创造了一百万张的销量。在1998年,Q杂志的读者将紫雨评选为有史以来最伟大的唱片第73位。2003年,电视网络VH1将其评为第十八位。滚石乐队将其称为1980年代第二名的唱片。


History.

Beginnings.

Nightly discussions of the concept of a news magazine led its founders Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, both age 23, to quit their jobs in 1922. Later that same year, they formed Time Inc. Having raised $86,000 of a $100,000 goal, the first issue of "Time" was published on March 3, 1923, as the first weekly news magazine in the United States. Luce served as business manager while Hadden was editor-in-chief. Luce and Hadden annually alternated year-to-year the titles of president and secretary-treasurer. Upon Hadden's sudden death in 1929, Luce assumed Hadden's position.  Luce launched the business magazine "Fortune" in February 1930 and created/founded the pictorial "Life" magazine in 1936, and launched "House & Home" in 1952 and "Sports Illustrated" in 1954. He also produced "The March of Time" radio and newsreel series. By the mid-1960s, Time Inc. was the largest and most prestigious magazine publisher in the world. (Dwight Macdonald, a "Fortune" staffer during the 1930s, referred to him as "Il Luce", a play on the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was called "Il Duce".) Once ambitious to become Secretary of State in a Republican administration, Luce penned a famous article in "Life" magazine in 1941, called "The American Century", which defined the role of American foreign policy for the remainder of the 20th century, and perhaps beyond.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aware that most publishers were opposed to him, issued a decree in 1943 that blocked all publishers and media executives from visits to combat areas; he put General George Marshall in charge of enforcement. The main target was Luce, who had long opposed FDR. Historian Alan Brinkley argues the move was "badly mistaken", for had Luce been allowed to travel, he would have been an enthusiastic cheerleader for American forces around the globe. But stranded in New York City, Luce's frustration and anger expressed itself in hard-edged partisanship. Luce, supported by Editor T. S. Matthews, appointed Whittaker Chambers as acting Foreign News editor in 1944, despite the feuds Chambers had with reporters in the field.  In 1963, recommendations from Time Inc. executive David Brumbaugh based on how it delivered magazines led to the introduction of ZIP codes by the United States Post Office. In the 1950s, Brumbaugh made presentations to the Post Office Department to explain how Time Inc. was using a zoning system to speed the delivery of its magazines. Although the Post Office Department had instated zones in 1943, they were inconsistently applied. As cited in FYI, Time Inc.’s internal newsletter “‘Fewer than 40% of the cities were properly zoned,’ he recalls. ‘I went to the Post Office Department and showed them how we were making the zone system work.’”  Luce, who remained editor-in-chief of all his publications until 1964, maintained a position as an influential member of the Republican Party. Holding anti-communist sentiments, he used "Time" to support right-wing dictatorships in the name of fighting communism. An instrumental figure behind the so-called "China Lobby", he played a large role in steering American foreign policy and popular sentiment in favor of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling in their war against the Japanese. (The Chiangs appeared in the cover of "Time" eleven times between 1927 and 1955.)

Merger.

The merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was announced on March 4, 1989. During the summer of that same year, Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western) launched a $12.2 billion hostile bid to acquire Time Inc. in an attempt to end a stock swap merger deal between Time and Warner Communications. This caused Time to raise its bid for Warner to $14.9 billion in cash and stock. Paramount responded by filing a lawsuit in a Delaware court to block the Time/Warner merger. The court ruled twice in favor of Time, forcing Paramount to drop both the Time acquisition and the lawsuit, and allowing the formation of the two companies' merger which was completed on January 10, 1990. However, instead of the companies becoming defunct, the impact of the merger and its resultant financial shock wave gave off a new corporate structure, resulting in the new combined company being called "Time Warner".  In 2008, Time Inc. launched Maghound, an internet-based magazine membership service that featured approximately 300 magazine titles from both Time Inc. brands and external publishing companies. On January 19, 2010, Time Inc. acquired StyleFeeder, a personal shopping engine.  In August 2010, Time Inc. announced that Ann S. Moore, its chairman and chief executive, would step down as CEO and be replaced by Jack Griffin, an executive with Meredith Corporation, the nation's second-largest publisher of consumer magazines. In September 2010, Time Inc. entered into a licensing agreement with Kolkata-based ABP Group, one of India's largest media conglomerates, to publish "Fortune India" magazine and the yearly Fortune India 500 list. Griffin was ousted after a brief tenure, eventually being replaced by Laura Lang, who served about a year.

Split.

On March 6, 2013, Time Warner announced plans to spin-off Time Inc. into a publicly traded company. Time Warner's chairman/CEO Jeff Bewkes said that the split would allow Time Warner to focus entirely on its television and film businesses, and Time Inc. to focus on its core print media businesses. It was announced in May 2014 that Time Inc. would become a publicly traded company on June 6 of that year. The spinoff was completed on June 9, 2014. As of September 13, 2016, Rich Battista was promoted to president and CEO, replacing Joseph A. Ripp.  Time Inc. purchased American Express Publishing Corporation's suite of titles, including "Travel + Leisure", "Food & Wine", "Departures", "Black Ink" and "Executive Travel" on October 1, 2013. On January 14, 2014, Time Inc. announced that Colin Bodell was joining the company in the newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. However, he was let go May 19, 2016 On February 5, 2014, Time Inc. announced that it was cutting 500 jobs with most of the layoffs at American Express Publishing. From April 2014 to mid-2017, the Chairman of Time Inc. was Joseph A. Ripp, who had been Chief Executive since September 2013 and continued as Executive Chairman when replaced as CEO by Battista. Though Ripp had intended to remain Executive Chairman until 2018, he wound up leaving the board in 2017 and John Fahey served as non-executive chairman for the months prior to the company's sale to Meredith. On May 28, 2015, Time Inc. announced the purchase of entertainment and sports news site. In July 2015, "Time Inc." acquired League Athletics in Tucson, SportsSignup in Saratoga Springs, and iScore in Los Alamitos. The three companies will be a part of Sports Illustrated Play.  After attempting a few TV shows in 2014 and 2015, the company formed Time Inc. Productions in 2016 as its in-house production company. On February 11, 2016, Time Inc. announced that it has acquired Viant, a leading people based marketing platform and owner of MySpace.

Sale to Meredith.

In February 2017, it was reported that Meredith Corporation and a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. were considering purchasing Time Inc. In 2016, Time Inc. acquired Bizrate Insights. On April 28, 2017, the company's board of directors dropped the plan of selling the company and instead focus on growth strategies.  On November 26, 2017, it was announced that Meredith Corporation would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. $640 million in backing will be provided by Koch Equity Development, but the Koch family will not have a board seat or otherwise influence the company's operations. Prior to the sale closing in January 2018, Time Inc. sold Essence Communications to Richelieu Dennis, the founder of hair- and skin-care products maker Sundial Brands. In January 2018, Meredith removed signage and references to Time, Inc., and Time, Inc. website was redirected to the Meredith's website.  In March 2018, only six weeks after the closure of the deal, Meredith announced that it would lay off 1,200 employees, and explore the sale of "Time", "Fortune", "Money", and "Sports Illustrated". The company felt that these brands did not align with its core, lifestyle-oriented properties.  Howard Milstein had announced on February 7, 2018, that he would acquire "Golf Magazine" from Meredith, and Time Inc. UK was sold to the British private equity group Epiris (later rebranded to TI Media) in late February. In September 2018, Meredith announced that it would re-sell "Time" to Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne for $190 million. Although Benioff is the chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.com, "Time" will remain separate from the company, and Benioff will not be involved in its daily operations. In November 2018, Meredith announced to sell "Fortune" to Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon for $150 million.

Leadership.

In the early years, when the company was just "Time" magazine, Luce served as business manager while Hadden was editor-in-chief, and they annually alternated the positions of president and secretary-treasurer. On Hadden's sudden death in 1929 Luce took his position and business management was entrusted to Roy E. Larsen, who had been one of their first hires. Luce cultivated a philosophy of "church and state", where the editorial and business management were separate up to the board of directors level. (This was functionally ended with the departure of McManus from the Time Warner board, and formally by Ripp in 2013).

Editors-in-chief.

McManus left the board of what had become Time Warner shortly before retiring, and his replacement Norman Pearlstine and successors John Huey (2006-2012) and Martha Nelson (2013) were never directors of the parent. The title was then abolished.

Presidents.

Linen became Chairman of the Executive Committee for a time after serving as president, then was succeeded by Shepley, who retained that position for a time after he, in turn, stepped down as president.

Chairmen of the board.

Davidson also served as Chairman of the Executive Committee after stepping down as Chairman of the Board. Munro was Chairman of the Executive Committee of Time Warner from 1990 to 1996.  On the merger with Warner Communications Munro and then Nicholas were co-CEOs of Time Warner with Steve Ross until 1992 when Ross squeezed Nicholas out. Gerald M. Levin, who had come up through Time's non-publishing operations, succeeded Ross later that year and in 2002 was succeeded by Richard Parsons who had never been connected to legacy Time Inc. (his successor Jeff Bewkes, leader of the parent when Time Inc. was spun off, had like Levin come from the non-publishing operations).

Heads of Time within a parent.

The Time, Inc. (the comma remained part of the formal title until the Warner merger but the company ceased to use it in 1933) corporate entity diversified out of publishing in the 1970s and 1980s, purchasing what was later spun off as Temple-Inland paper company and various broadcasting and cable television operations such as HBO and what became Time Warner Cable. As the distinction between the overall corporation and the magazine operation grew, the position that had been "Group Vice President, Magazines" or "Executive Vice President, Magazines" became president and chief executive of a "magazine group" in 1985 (under Kelso F. Sutton to 1986,and then Reginald K. Brack Jr.) and then became president and CEO of a newly incorporated subsidiary,"The Time Inc. Magazine Company" in 1988 (initially with John A. Meyers as chairman). In 1992, Time Warner reorganized so that the non-magazine parts of Time Inc. came directly under the parent and the Time Inc. name was downgraded to only include the magazine company, so the officers of the "Magazine Company" became the officers of what was now Time Inc. Later that year, CEO Brack shifted to chairman with Don Logan as president; he stepped down in favor of Logan as CEO in 1994 and chairman in 1997. Logan moved up to a group oversight position including additional Time Warner operations in 2002 (Ann S. Moore succeeding him at the magazine operation) and left the company in 2005. Leaders after Moore are noted above.

Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake "Time", "Sports Illustrated", "Travel + Leisure", "Food & Wine", "Fortune", "People", "InStyle", "Life", "Golf Magazine", "Southern Living", "Essence", "Real Simple", and "Entertainment Weekly". It also had subsidiaries which it co-operated with the UK magazine house Time Inc. UK (which later sold and since has been rebranded to TI Media), whose major titles include "What's on TV", "NME", "Country Life", and "Wallpaper". Time Inc. also co-operated over 60 websites and digital-only titles including "MyRecipes", "Extra Crispy", "TheSnug", HelloGiggles, and "MIMI".

时代公司(英语:Time Inc.)是曾经位于美国纽约的一间出版公司,其负责出版的杂志有130多种, 最著名者为《时代》、《生活》、《运动画刊》及《财星》。2017年11月,梅雷迪斯公司宣布将以28亿美元的价格收购该公司,次年1月31日交易完成。


新干线300系电力动车组

Design.

The front-end styling of these units consisted of a 'curved wedge', replacing the aircraft-style nose-cones of previous Shinkansen trains. The furthest forward point was the very bottom of the pilot. They were painted brilliant white with a medium-thick blue stripe beneath the windows.  They were only formed as sixteen-car sets and had no restaurant cars, though they did originally feature two refreshment counters (later removed).  Technically, they are notable for being the first Shinkansen sets to employ three-phase AC traction motors instead of direct current units, as well as new bolsterless bogies to reduce weight.  The 300 series was awarded the Laurel Prize in May 1993.

Pre-series 300-9000 series set.

The pre-series unit, J0, numbered in the 300-9000 series, was delivered on 8 March 1990, and underwent extensive testing and endurance running before the start of the new "Nozomi" services in March 1992. In the early hours of 1 March 1991, this set recorded a speed of 325.7 km/h on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between and, a Japanese national speed record at the time.  The set was modified to production standards in March 1993, becoming set "J1", but it differed from the production units in a number of ways. Visually, the driving cab had a different windscreen design, different headlight arrangement, and flared side panels over the front bogies. The prototype set was initially fitted with five pantographs, but this was later reduced to two in line with modifications to the production fleet. Limited water tank capacity meant that the unit was not capable of running return trips from Tokyo to Hakata, and was normally restricted to Tokyo to Osaka/Okayama/Hiroshima workings.  From 2001 onwards, this unit was converted for use as a JR Central test train for testing new digital ATC equipment on the Tokaido Shinkansen. It was finally withdrawn in March 2007. All cars except one end car, 322-9001, were cut up.

JR Central J sets.

60 16-car sets (excluding pre-series set J1) operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). These sets were delivered between February 1992 and October 1998.  In December 1998, set J59 was fitted experimentally with new 700 series style single-arm pantographs and fairings to reduce noise and air resistance. Following testing, JR Central subsequently fitted new pantographs to all of its sets, with modifications completed by late 2002.  In October 2004, JR Central announced plans for ride improvement modifications to its 300 series fleet involving the addition of semi-active vibration control units to seven cars out of the total of sixteen in each set (end cars 1 and 16, pantograph cars 6 and 12, and Green cars 8 to 10), and also new non-linear air suspension on all cars in each set. The new secondary suspension offered firmer support against lateral movement. The entire fleet operated by JR Central received the modifications by February 2007.  With the entry into service of new N700 series trains, withdrawals of production 300 series sets began in July 2007 with the withdrawal of set J14.  The remaining fleet of JR Central 300 series sets were removed from regular scheduled services from 1 February 2012, and were completely withdrawn following the final runs on 16 March 2012.

Formation.

The 16-car J sets were formed as follows, with car 1 at the Hakata end. Cars 6 and 12 each had one single-arm pantograph.

JR-West F sets (300-3000 series).

Nine 16-car sets operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West).  These sets were delivered between December 1992 and September 1993.  Withdrawals of the JR-West F sets began in July 2011, with the withdrawal of set F5. The last remaining sets were withdrawn by spring 2012 and replaced by eight 700 series "C" sets transferred from JR Central.

Formation.

The 16-car F sets were formed as follows, with car 1 at the Hakata end. Cars 6 and 12 each had one single-arm pantograph.

History.

"Source:"

The was a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen train type, with a top operational speed of 270 km/h (170 mph), which operated on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines in Japan between 1992 and 2012. When first introduced, they were used on the fastest "Nozomi" services, being capable of. As more were delivered (66 trains by 1998) they replaced earlier units on "Hikari" service and allowed the thus displaced 100 series units to finally in turn displace 0 series units on almost all services.

新干线300系电动列车()是日本东海道、山阳新干线的第三代新干线车辆,由东海旅客铁道(JR东海)和西日本旅客铁道(JR西日本)两家公司各自操作。该车款于1992年3月开始投入服务,作为该路线上最高等级的希望号(,Nozomi)之使用车种。但随着更新的车种陆续推出,300系陆续被改用在较低等级的车班上,并在2012年时除役。


Description.

The entrance, collector's booth, turnstiles and bus bays are at street level, the concourse is on the second level, and the subway platforms are on the lower level. Stairs connect all levels with escalators only operating up at all times.  This station is used as a switchover point for subway operators changing their shift, regularly causing a slight delay while the crew is changed in either direction. Station collectors and subway operators use office space at the Danforth Garage, which is located on the south side of Danforth Avenue near the station.  The station underwent renovations to add elevators from the street to both subway platforms, automatic sliding doors, accessible fare gates, and improved signage which made it fully accessible by 2017. This is part of a system wide program that will retrofit all stations by 2030.  On December 22, 2016, this station along with Leslie are the last subway stations to be Presto card enabled which means by then all subway stations now accept Presto. In October 2016, the Coxwell Laneway Mosaic Mural was unveiled by dignitaries including TTC Chair Josh Colle, who said "At the TTC, public art not only beautifies our properties, but it's become a catalyst for station improvement projects". The mural is mounted on the outside of the barrier separating the Coxwell Station bus loop from a pedestrian walkway on the east and a parking lot on the south. The work is divided two sections representing past and future. It was created by a local group led by artist Cristina Delago. Installed in 2018, the artwork "Forwards and Backwards" by Jennifer Davis and Jon Sasaki is displayed on the station concourse level, giving the effect of a funhouse mirror. Artist Davis describes the work as "a three-dimensional sculpted curtain, cast in polished reflective aluminum, a material widely used in the TTC's rolling stock and infrastructure". The "sculpted curtain" is intended as a tribute to the TTC's "behind-the-curtain" employees.

Nearby landmarks.

Nearby landmarks include Monarch Park Stadium, Monarch Park Collegiate Institute, Michael Garron Hospital and the East York Civic Centre.

Surface connections.

TTC routes serving the station include:

Coxwell is a subway station on the Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is located on Strathmore Boulevard just east of Coxwell Avenue and one block north of Danforth Avenue. It opened in 1966 as part of the original segment of the Bloor-Danforth line. Automatic sliding doors, accessible fare gates and the addition of elevators made the station fully accessible in late December 2017.

葛士维站(英语:Coxwell Station)是一座多伦多地铁布罗尔-单福线车站,坐落加拿大安大略省多伦多葛士维道(英语:Coxwell Avenue)和单福大道(英语:Danforth Avenue)的交界处附近,于1966年2月25日联同该地铁线的首期路段一起开幕。


History.

Marcher lord Gilbert de Clare built an earlier Motte and bailey castle a mile south of the current site in around 1110. It was called "Tan-y-castell", "Aberrheidol Castle" and "Old Aberystwyth". In 1116 it was sieged by Gruffydd ap Rhys, King of Deheubarth, but his attempt to capture it proved fruitless. He was eventually successful in 1136, capturing it and burning it to the ground with the help of Owain Gwynedd and his brother, Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd, the sons of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, since the Norman invaders had killed their sister, Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, Gruffydd ap Rhys's wife. Owain Gwynedd gave it to Cadwaladr to rebuild, but Cadwaladr's later attempt to murder Anarawd ap Gruffydd, the new king of Deheubarth, resulted in Owain Gwynedd sending his son Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd to burn it in 1143. The castle was rebuilt and later reinforced with stone. After a succession of at least three owners, it was taken by Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great in 1221. Llywelyn razed the castle and erected a new one in its place. The current castle was rebuilt in its current location by Edward I of England in 1277 after the end of the first war against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Llywelyn the Great's grandson. The Welsh took the castle in 1282 at the start of the 1282 war and burned both the castle and the town. Under master mason James of St George, the castle was eventually completed in 1289, though it was sieged extensively during the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294-5.  The town of Aberystwyth was flourishing by 1307; its Welsh name was "Llanbadarn Gaerog" (). However, by the time of the Black Prince in 1343 the castle was in a bad state of disrepair; the main gateway and drawbridges, the king's hall and long chamber, the kitchen range, and the outer bailey were falling down.  In 1404, Owain Glyndŵr captured the castle during a national uprising against English occupation. There would be a treaty signed between Glyndŵr & the King of France at the Castle. Four years later, it was retaken by the English, and became an important seat of the government. In 1637 Charles I turned the castle into a Royal mint, and it became a producer of silver shillings. The mint's operator raised a regiment of Royalist soldiers during the English Civil War. The mint closed down during the Civil War, but served as a warehouse for storing silver and lead. Oliver Cromwell slighted the castle in 1649.

Architecture.

Building work started in 1277 at the time of the First Welsh War. It was begun during Edward I's first Welsh campaign at the same time as work started at Flint, Rhuddlan and Builth Wells. The inner ward was built in a diamond-shaped concentric castle, with a twin D-shaped gatehouse keep and mural towers at each corner. The outer ward is described as consisting of a "twin D-shaped gatehouse, a barbican, a rock-cut ditch and a large curtain wall with towers".

Aberystwyth Castle () is a Grade I listed Edwardian fortress located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Mid Wales. It was built in response to the First Welsh War in the late 13th century, replacing an earlier fortress located a mile to the south. During a national uprising by Owain Glyndŵr, the Welsh captured the castle in 1404, but it was recaptured by the English four years later. In 1637 it became a Royal mint by Charles I, and produced silver shillings. The castle was slighted by Oliver Cromwell in 1649.

阿伯里斯特威斯城堡(英语:Aberystwyth Castle,)是位于英国威尔士中部锡尔迪金阿伯里斯特威斯的一座爱德华一世时期的城堡。城堡始建于1277年,为一菱形同心城堡。14世纪时,城堡已陷入荒废。15世纪时,阿伯里斯特威斯城堡在战争中被毁。现在阿伯里斯特威斯城堡由阿伯里斯特威斯市议会管理,对一般公众开放。


Features.

Areas commonly included under this rubric include history of Zhuang, literature of Zhuang, art of Zhuang, music of Zhuang, language of Zhuang, sociology of Zhuang, political science of Zhuang, economics of Zhuang, folklore of Zhuang, and ethnomusicology of Zhuang. It may be compared to other ethnic groups studies disciplines, such as Tai studies and Yao studies. Zhuang studies is sometimes included within a broader regional area of focus including: "Lingnan studies", "Yue people studies","South Asia studies", or "ASEAN Studies".

History.

Zhuang studies is a relatively new discipline.  Huang Xianfan may be considered as the first Zhuangologist and he did much to make Zhuang known in China. Since 1950, Huang Xianfan led the group making a largest and deepest investigation on ethnic history and traditional culture in Guangxi history. They had collected a lot of valuable materials and laid a foundation for further research on Zhuang ethnic social and historical culture. That was a very important beginning for later development of Zhuang ethnic research and establishment of Guangxi institute of ethnic studies. Therefore, the inception of Zhuang studies as an authentic academic discipline is thus associated with the first ethnologist Huang Xianfan de Zhuang who is considered as its founder to present day, the other early zhuang studies of note being Huang Zengqing (Huang group's member and the first archaeological researcher of the Guangxi) who in 1957 occupied the first chair for Zhuang's archaeology studies in China and Zhou Zuoqiou, who was primarily the pioneering subject of the zhuang literature in Guangxi Normal University.  The Bagui School (The first ethnic school in China and pioneer is Huang Xianfan) was particularly significant for the development of the discipline since the early 1950s with Huang Xianfan, Huang Zengqing, Ban Xiouwen, Ou Yang Ruoxiou, Qin Cailuan, Qin Naichang, Qin Shengmin, He Longqun, Yu Shijie, Qin Deqing, Pan Qixu, Huang Hanjin and Zeng Chaoxiong.,  In 1957, the Guangxi government established the Guangxi institute of ethnic studies to promote Zhuang studies around China. In 1991 the Guangxi Zhuang Studies Society was established, and in April 1999 the first international Zhuang studies conference was held in Wuming with scholars from 8 different countries.  Over the last few decades in other countries the studies of the Zhuang have opened towards other disciplines, resulting in works with interdisciplinary approach. As examples of such open-minded Zhuang researcher we might mention the American anthropologist Jeffrey Barlow, among others, who has done noted research and publications on lexical questions, about Zhuang culture and the modern history of Zhuang. Others are Japanese anthropologist Chikada Sigeyuki, Australian anthropologist David Holm, and many more.

Zhuang studies (or Zhuangology; Standard Zhuang: Cuenghhag; ) is an interdisciplinary intellectual field concerned with the Zhuang people – their history, anthropology, religion, politics, languages, and literature. The majority of such research is being carried out in the People's Republic of China. Huang Xianfan (黄现璠) is considered by many to be the father of Zhuang studies.

壮学()的定义是有争议的。大体是指以壮族学者为主体而对壮族历史文化、政治形态、社会经济、哲学宗教、语言文字、文学艺术、天文地理、工艺科技、教育和医学等各种学科展开研究的一门综合性学科。现阶段壮学在世界学中仍属一门边缘性学科。


中国-新西兰自由贸易协定

Agreements.

Under the agreement, 37 per cent of Chinese exports to New Zealand and 35 per cent of New Zealand exports to China will be tariff free by October 2008. All tariffs for Chinese exports to New Zealand will be eliminated by 2016, and 96 per cent of New Zealand exports to China will be tariff free by 2019. Mutual investment and trade in services will also be facilitated.  The deal also allows 1,800 specialised workers to go from China to New Zealand for a period of up to three years. This, however, will be limited to approved occupations and to a maximum of 100 such workers in any sector, except for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Chinese chefs, and Mandarin teaching aides, which have maximums of 150 or 200. New Zealand will also establish a working holiday scheme enabling up to 1,000 young Chinese nationals annually to travel and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months. Both countries have agreed to enhance business visa conditions and processing.

History.

2008 agreement.

The New Zealand-China free trade agreement took over three years to negotiate. On 19 November 2004, Helen Clark and President of the People's Republic of China, Hu Jintao announced the commencement of negotiations towards an FTA at the APEC Leaders meeting in Santiago, Chile. The first round of negotiations was held in December 2004. Fifteen rounds took place before the FTA was signed in April 2008 by New Zealand's Minister of Trade Phil Goff and the Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  The deal was welcomed by a number of New Zealand exporters including the dairy cooperative Fonterra and the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, while others such as the appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel stated that the deal would lead to tougher competition with cheaper-priced Chinese products. The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions opposed the inclusion of workforce in the trade agreement stating that there is potential for skilled Chinese workers to be exploited and underpaid.  While the FTA enjoys the support of New Zealand's two largest political parties, Labour and National, the Green Party and the Māori Party opposed the agreement even before it was signed. Members of the Green Party protested against the signing of the deal, Keith Locke saying that easier access to cheap Chinese workforce could undermine New Zealand workers. Following the signing, New Zealand First announced that it opposed the deal. Public opinion has been divided; a poll published a week before the signing showed 45% supported the deal, while 32% opposed it.

2014 Upgrade.

In 2014, China and New Zealand announced that they would seek an upgrade of the free trade agreement. It is expected that the upgrade will be completed some time in 2016.

2019 Upgrade.

In early November 2019, New Zealand and China agreed to upgrade their free trade agreement. New provisions have included making exports to China easier, improving China's commitment to environmental standards, and giving New Zealand preferential access to the wood and paper trade with China. In return, New Zealand will ease visa restrictions for Chinese tour guides and Chinese language teachers.

The New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement is a bilateral free trade agreement signed between the People's Republic of China and New Zealand in April 2008. It is the first free trade agreement that China has signed with any developed country, and New Zealand's largest trade deal since the 1983 Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia. The New Zealand-China FTA was signed on 7 April 2008 in Beijing, after negotiations that spanned fifteen rounds over three years. It entered into force on 1 October 2008, after ratification by the New Zealand Parliament. The provisions of the agreement are expected to be phased in gradually over 12 years, fully coming into force in 2019.

《中华人民共和国政府和新西兰政府自由贸易协定》,简称中国-新西兰自由贸易协定,是中华人民共和国与新西兰的双边自由贸易协定,于2008年4月签署。该协定涵盖了货物贸易、服务贸易、投资等领域,还涉及国防、法律、人权、多边贸易、地区安全等议题,是中国与其他国家签署的第一个全面的自由贸易协定,也是中华人民共和国与发达国家达成的第一个自由贸易协定。该协定也是新西兰继1983年与澳洲签署的澳新更紧密经贸关系协定后最大的贸易协定。新西兰国会在2008年7月通过该协定,10月1日协定生效,将在未来11年逐步实施,于2019年完全落实。2019年11月,两国同意升级现有的自由贸易协定。


Development and history.

According to Beck's publisher, 'When Beck began studying depression in the 1950s, the prevailing psychoanalytic theory attributed the syndrome to inverted hostility against the self.' By contrast, the BDI was developed in a novel way for its time; by collating patients' verbatim descriptions of their symptoms and then using these to structure a scale which could reflect the intensity or severity of a given symptom.  Beck drew attention to the importance of "negative cognitions" described as sustained, inaccurate, and often intrusive negative thoughts about the self. In his view, it was the case that these cognitions "caused" depression, rather than being generated "by" depression.  Beck developed a triad of negative cognitions about the world, the future, and the self, which play a major role in depression. An example of the triad in action taken from Brown (1995) is the case of a student obtaining poor exam results:  The development of the BDI reflects that in its structure, with items such as "I have lost all of my interest in other people" to reflect the world, "I feel discouraged about the future" to reflect the future, and "I blame myself for everything bad that happens" to reflect the self. The view of depression as sustained by intrusive negative cognitions has had particular application in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to challenge and neutralize them through techniques such as cognitive restructuring.

BDI.

The original BDI, first published in 1961, consisted of twenty-one questions about how the subject has been feeling in the last week. Each question had a set of at least four possible responses, ranging in intensity. For example:  When the test is scored, a value of 0 to 3 is assigned for each answer and then the total score is compared to a key to determine the depression's severity. The standard cut-off scores were as follows: Higher total scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.  Some items on the original BDI had more than one statement marked with the same score. For instance, there are two responses under the Mood heading that score a 2: (2a) "I am blue or sad all the time and I can't snap out of it" and (2b) "I am so sad or unhappy that it is very painful".

BDI-IA.

The BDI-IA was a revision of the original instrument developed by Beck during the 1970s, and copyrighted in 1978. To improve ease of use, the ""a" and "b" statements" described above were removed, and respondents were instructed to endorse how they had been feeling during the preceding two weeks. The internal consistency for the BDI-IA was good, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of around 0.85, meaning that the items on the inventory are highly correlated with each other.  However, this version retained some flaws; the BDI-IA only addressed six out of the nine DSM-III criteria for depression. This and other criticisms were addressed in the BDI-II.

BDI-II.

The BDI-II was a 1996 revision of the BDI, developed in response to the American Psychiatric Association's publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, which changed many of the diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder.  Items involving changes in body image, hypochondriasis, and difficulty working were replaced. Also, sleep loss and appetite loss items were revised to assess both increases and decreases in sleep and appetite. All but three of the items were reworded; only the items dealing with feelings of being punished, thoughts about suicide, and interest in sex remained the same. Finally, participants were asked to rate how they have been feeling for the past two weeks, as opposed to the past week as in the original BDI.  Like the BDI, the BDI-II also contains 21 questions, each answer being scored on a scale value of 0 to 3. Higher total scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms. The standardized cutoffs used differ from the original:  One measure of an instrument's usefulness is to see how closely it agrees with another similar instrument that has been validated against information from a clinical interview by a trained clinician. In this respect, the BDI-II is positively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale with a Pearson r of 0.71, showing good agreement. The test was also shown to have a high one-week test–retest reliability (Pearson r =0.93), suggesting that it was not overly sensitive to daily variations in mood. The test also has high internal consistency (α=.91).

Impact.

The development of the BDI was an important event in psychiatry and psychology; it represented a shift in health care professionals' view of depression from a Freudian, psychodynamic perspective, to one guided by the patient's own thoughts or "cognitions". It also established the principle that instead of attempting to develop a psychometric tool based on a possibly invalid theory, self-report questionnaires when analysed using techniques such as factor analysis can suggest theoretical constructs.  The BDI was originally developed to provide a quantitative assessment of the intensity of depression. Because it is designed to reflect the depth of depression, it can monitor changes over time and provide an objective measure for judging improvement and the effectiveness or otherwise of treatment methods. The instrument remains widely used in research; in 1998, it had been used in over 2000 empirical studies. It has been translated into multiple European languages as well as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian, and Xhosa.

Limitations.

The BDI suffers from the same problems as other self-report inventories, in that scores can be easily exaggerated or minimized by the person completing them. Like all questionnaires, the way the instrument is administered can have an effect on the final score. If a patient is asked to fill out the form in front of other people in a clinical environment, for instance, social expectations have been shown to elicit a different response compared to administration via a postal survey.  In participants with concomitant physical illness the BDI's reliance on physical symptoms such as fatigue may artificially inflate scores due to symptoms of the illness, rather than of depression. In an effort to deal with this concern Beck and his colleagues developed the "Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care" (BDI-PC), a short screening scale consisting of seven items from the BDI-II considered to be independent of physical function. Unlike the standard BDI, the BDI-PC produces only a binary outcome of "not depressed" or "depressed" for patients above a cutoff score of 4.  Although designed as a screening device rather than a diagnostic tool, the BDI is sometimes used by health care providers to reach a quick diagnosis.  The BDI is copyrighted; a fee must be paid for each copy used. There is no evidence that the BDI-II is more valid or reliable than other depression scales, and public domain scales such as the Patient Health Questionnaire – Nine Item (PHQ-9) have been studied as a useful tool.

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI-1A, BDI-II), created by Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory, one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression. Its development marked a shift among mental health professionals, who had until then, viewed depression from a psychodynamic perspective, instead of it being rooted in the patient's own thoughts.

贝克抑郁量表是一款普遍用于测量抑郁程度的量表,由心理学家亚伦·贝克发展。贝克抑郁量表始创于1961年,后来经两度修改,终成为今日普遍所用的BDI-II。量表总共有21条问题,总分为63分,14-19分为轻度抑郁,20-28为中度抑郁,29分以上是严重抑郁。贝克抑郁量表的信度系数为0.70-0.93之间。


Performance.

For the year ending 31 December 2018, TMB reported 48,555 million baht in revenues, income of 11,601 million baht, and total assets of 891,713 million baht. In 2018 TMB reported 8,373 employees, 416 branches, and 2,891 ATMs.

History.

TMB was the brainchild of Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat. He endeavoured to establish a commercial banking business to provide financial services exclusively to military personnel under the Commercial Banking Act B.E. 2488 (1945). The bank started in 1957, but only opened its first branch, Rajaprasong Branch, in Bangkok in 1963. In 1973 it became a full commercial bank with the general public as its customer base. It adopted the slogan, "Thai Military Bank, the Bank for all people". In 2005, TMB adopted the new official name in English, "TMB Bank Public Company Limited", the present-day corporate logo, and a new slogan, "Better Partner, Better Value".

TMB-Thanachart Bank.

In 2019, TMB Bank agreed to merge with Thanachart Bank, a retail bank in Thailand, which would make TMB-Thanachart the sixth largest bank in Thailand. The merger is expected to be completed in 2021.Initially, TMB-Thanachart will have 91 branches, 58 in Bangkok and 33 in the provinces. Praphan Anupongongarch is President of TMB-Thanachart Bank.

Slogan.

TMB has adopted "Make THE Difference" as its corporate philosophy. The concept embodies TMB's belief that everyone has the ability to think and do things constructively to effect change.

Corporate social responsibility program.

TMB set up FAI-FAH as its main corporate social responsibility programme. FAI-FAH is a learning centre where free courses in cooking, painting, singing, dancing and other subjects are offered to low-income teenagers. Currently there are two FAI-FAH centres. Many of the children who have been trained by the center have return to their communities and initiated community development programme aided by TMB staffers who work as volunteers.

Awards and recognition.

On 14 April 2015, The Asian Banker Leadership Achievement Awards presented the "Best CEO in Asia Pacific 2015" award to Boontuck Wungcharoen, TMB CEO, and the "Best Managed Bank in Asia Pacific" award to TMB. The award ceremony took place during the Asian Banker Summit in Hong Kong. Both Boontuck and TMB are the first from Thailand to receive the accolade.  In its announcement of the awards, the Asian Banker said, "...the bank has changed from a loss-making institution to a profitable one. Its net profit in 2014 rose by 66.2%—the highest among Thai banks. Net profit improved five-fold from, 2009-2014 while asset quality improved. Non-performing loan ratios dropped from 12.7% in 2009 to 2.9% in 2014 and cost-to-income ratios decreased from 77% in 2009 to 53% in 2014."  Mr. Boontuck was also named "Financier of the Year 2014" by "Money and Banking" magazine.

Shareholders.

Major shareholders as of 2 December 2019:

Management.

Key management as of 1 March 2020:

TMB Bank (TMB) (; ) is a Thai transactional bank based in Bangkok. It has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) since 23 December 1983. Piti Tantakasem was appointed CEO effective January 2018.

泰国军人银行(,英文:TMB Bank Public Company Ltd),是泰国国防部在1956年10月所创办的银行,是泰国第六大银行。总部在曼谷乍都节区拍凤裕庭路,全泰国有370个分支机构。


Gameplay.

Atlantica Online is a turn-based tactical MMORPG in which the player primarily assumes the role of a descendant of the Atlantean people. The primary goal of the game is to search for your ancestral home to save the world from the effects of Oriharukon, a substance created by the ancient Atlanteans. The player's journey spans the globe and transcends time in search of clues that will lead to the lost civilization. The player battles men, monsters, and machines that have been corrupted by the Oriharukon's Influence.  The game design puts a strong emphasis on membership in guilds, which are permitted to own and customize towns like a business, profiting from the transactions that take place within their town. Up to ten guilds can unite under a single banner to form a Nation and go to war with other nations. Guilds and nations offer a variety of benefits to their members including passive boosts, guild-oriented dungeons, and ‘Guild Crafting’ where every member of a guild works together to complete a single craft. Players can also own their own houses.  In addition to the main quest line, the game features a variety of supplementary side quests rich with history and lore, a complex skill system, an in-depth crafting system, and a player housing system. As players journey through the world of Atlantica Online, their characters and mercenaries grow and develop, gaining access to new, more powerful skills and equipment along the way. As the level cap has advanced, the developers have implemented a set of milestones in the leveling structure with associated level-specific quest lines that enable players access to powerful class-specific skills known as “talents” upon completion. Players can recruit up to eight mercenaries to join them in their travels, and each can increase in experience level. There are relatively few equipment options available to players apart from a few class-specific armor sets and limited-time ‘legendary items’. Players can combine armor effects through an "enchantment" process.  The game's battle system is turn-based. When a player character and an enemy character come into contact with each other on the game map, both parties are transported into an instance where the battle takes place. During battle other players' groups and other monster groups may join in to a maximum of three groups on each side. In battle, the characters of each party are positioned on a 3x3 grid. Using attacks and abilities, the goal is to beat the opponent. The rewards include experience points and loot like the game's virtual currency, various materials, pieces of equipment etc. Player versus player combat operates through this system. There are two leagues players can join, as well as daily, weekly, and monthly fights and championships.  The Tactical battle system (TBS) is a separate, additional combat system that differs in many respects from the original system. Players and their adversaries are placed in a landscape where moving around characters freely is possible. New decision impacts like the possibility to take cover, different height levels and the movement speed of specific characters are added while certain mechanics of the original combat system are removed. Players complete story-based and objective-driven missions in the tactical battle system.  A dungeon in Atlantica Online is an instance region that can be opened with a special key and allows up to three players to clean the dungeon of enemies for a final reward in addition to the normal loot. Raid dungeons were added in 2012.

Setting.

The world of Atlantica Online features real world locations mixed with mythological and fantasy elements. Countries like Germany and China are represented, with cities like Munich, Moscow, and Sapporo as visitable hubs that offer services like banks, hospitals, the marketplace where players can trade goods with each other and other facilities. Though the locations on the map feature climates similar to their real world counterparts, the architecture is often a generic recreation of well known structure types, such as the cities in Eastern Europe and Japan.  The locations are based on real world locations, but are often geographically out of place and altered for effect. Most of the civilizations represented are anachronistic: Rome is set in the Holy Roman Empire, while Great Britain is independent, the Ottoman Empire reigns in Turkey, Southeast Asia resembles ancient Indian kingdoms before Western colonization and Islamic influence, and North America is caught up in the Industrial Revolution.

Development.

The North American English version, available worldwide, was first distributed by the USA subsidiary company NDOORS Interactive, Inc.. A closed beta version was made available to FilePlanet subscribers on July 15, 2008. The first phase of the open beta ended on July 28, 2008; the start of the second phase began on August 7, 2008. On October 30, 2008 at 11a.m. PDT, Atlantica Online ended its beta period and began its official run at 6p.m. PDT on October 30, 2008. NDOORS also launches Atlantica Online Germany, for European players, on the October 21. The closed Beta started on September 1 and ended after a month. The Chinese company The9 has obtained exclusive rights for distributing and operating Atlantica Online in China. Russian localized version open beta test started May 12, 2010 supported by Innova Systems company.  Atlantica's publisher and developer, Valofe, regularly releases new content updates. Non-Korean servers generally receive the updates after the Korean servers. Updates include, for instance, new dungeons, quests, NPCs, skills, mercenaries, outfits, equipment, mounts, and community features. Updates also balance the game's elements. Implemented on August 17, 2010, the Troy Story Arc is a series of'missions' following the format of the Tactical Battle System (TBS) that was introduced in the same patch. In each mission one or more players take part in a fantasy version of the Trojan War. The rewards include generous amounts of experience points and valuable chests containing loot. In April 2013, the first part of the major content update 'Rise of Atlantis' was released. May 2013 saw the second part and the third part is scheduled for June 2013. Previously with The Trojan War and the Romance of the Three Kingdom's reaching a great feedback from the players it was time to add in a new area, the Mythical region of Atlantis, which was divided by two, West and Eastern Atlantis. This update was the most extensive to that date, introducing a new continent to explore (mythical Atlantis), new mercenary classes, new equipment, content and several changes to other features of the game. Implemented on April 8, 2014, (Europe) the Mayan Hero Arc is the start of the new "Heroes" class line following the format of the Tactical Battle System (TBS) that was introduced previously in some raids and other more classic Content. In each mission one or more players take part in a fantasy version of the ancient mythology. The rewards can be very rewarding if the highest level of content is done. Future content to come will revolution the game, such as Whip using Mercenary's, a Corps Feature and other things that are planned/set to hit the Korean Servers in 2014 and early 2015.  On December 18, 2008, the North American continent was added, which features New York City as a new explorable city and the United States and Mexico as explorable countries. These contain a few dungeons, but greatly expand the map in Atlantica. Developers have also mentioned the possibility of adding the continents of the Southern Hemisphere, excluding Antarctica.

Reception.

Reception of "Atlantica Online" has been largely positive. The game received a number of awards upon release in 2008. "Atlantica Online" was selected as an official game for the Korean Game and Game World Championship (GNGWC) in 2008 and 2009 and won the prestigious Golden Plume Award for Best Foreign Online Game at the 2008 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy).  The game is acclaimed for its innovative turn-based battle system and its integration with community features. Danny Gourley of Ten Ton Hammer praised its gameplay, stating "it requires gamers to think a little instead of just mashing buttons".

Atlantica Online is a free-to-play (F2P) 3D tactical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by NDOORS Corporation. The game is currently published by Valofe. The game's primary setting is a fantasy-themed alternate history Earth composed of a diverse blend of historical, cultural, allegorical, and mythological elements. The game world is primarily modeled after real-world geography with accessible locations on six of the seven continents as well as the mythical floating continent of Atlantis from which the game's name is derived.

是韩国游戏公司Ndoors(后被NEXON收购)开发的一款3D战略角色扮演网络游戏。游戏中以神秘的Atlantica大陆为背景,玩家可以在广阔的世界地图中探索游戏的乐趣。游戏中最大的特色是使用充满变化的佣兵系统进行回合制对战。


Biography.

Early life.

He was born in Yiyang, Jiangxi, China. Jiang, whose reading abilities included Japanese, English, French, and German, learned and began to develop a passion for socialism and anarchism while studying and traveling in Europe and Japan. In 1909 he attended the congress of the Second International in Brussels. On his return to China, he served as educational adviser to Yuan Shikai.

Early political and literary activities.

Jiang served briefly as a professor at Peking University, but was ousted from that position on the grounds of his ideological radicalism. In August 1911, shortly after losing his post at Peking University, Jiang Kanghu established the Association for Socialism, and in November renamed it the Socialist Party of China. The next year Jiang devoted himself to reformism, leading Sha Gan () and many anarchists to withdraw from Jiang's party. In autumn 1913, the Chinese Socialist Party was dissolved by Yuan Shikai's order, and Jiang went to United States. He became an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he presented a collection of 10,000 Chinese books to the University. In 1920 he returned to China.  While teaching at Berkeley, Jiang met a fellow faculty member, Witter Bynner, and the two struck up a long lasting friendship based on their love of poetry. Bynner later recalled him as a “gentle scholar” and a “man of principle and brave action.” Jiang’s off-handed quotations from Chinese literature and poetry led to a collaboration on a translation of the canonical anthology, " Three Hundred Tang Poems ". Jiang supplied word by word literal translations, then Bynner wrote poems in English which achieved a remarkable balance of faithfulness and literary quality. The volume was published as "The Jade Mountain" (New York: Knopf, 1928), which has remained constantly in print.  Throughout his life, Jiang continued to promote his views through his personal contacts, through his academic work, and through his writing. When he no longer found the doctrines of anarchism persuasive, he conducted an extensive public debate with anarchist intellectuals such as Liu Shifu which clarified their points of difference. His views influenced contemporary Chinese who later became major political figures in China. After he became estranged from them, Chinese anarchists accused Jiang of being "hopelessly confused." This confusion was not apparent to Mao Zedong, who later stated that, as a student, Jiang's writings had been a major influence on the development of his own political, social, and economic theories.

Academic career.

Through his views, Jiang came to be known as a "Socialistic Confucian". Jiang attempted to provide a traditional sanction for nationalizing agriculture by arguing that in antiquity there had existed an agrarian socialist utopia built around the well-field system that vanished after the Qin dynasty abolished the public ownership of land (which Jiang identified with contemporary practices of land tenureship). Jiang promoted the abolition of private property, a model of rapid industrialization led by the state, as much local self-government as possible, the establishment of universal public schooling, and the advancement of women's rights.  In April 1921 Jiang visited the Soviet Union. He participated in the Comintern Third World Congress in Moscow, and met with Vladimir Lenin. In August 1921, Jiang returned to China. In September 1921 Jiang established Southern University in Shanghai and became the president of that university. While he was the president of Southern, Jiang criticized the Comintern and openly opposed both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China.  In 1922, Jiang visited Taiyuan, Shanxi, three times, with the intention of convincing the local warlord, Yan Xishan, of the need to carry out political, social, and economic reforms in Shanxi. Although Jiang ultimately failed to convince Yan to follow Jiang's suggestions for reform at that time, Jiang's ideas left a great and lasting impression on Yan. Over the next two decades, Yan would adopt ideas and methods that were very similar to those proposed by Jiang. Particular ideas that Yan may have borrowed from Jiang include the glorification of the village, a dislike for the money economy, a belief that the state must take over responsibilities previously held by the family, his hatred of "parasites" (mostly landlords and money-lenders), and the belief that practice (i.e. manual labour) is an inseparable component of learning.  In June 1924, Jiang reestablished the Chinese Socialist Party, and in January 1925 renamed it the New Social Democratic Party of China. In the Northern Expedition, Jiang cooperated closely with the Beiyang General Wu Peifu, who fought against Chiang Kai-shek's National Revolutionary Army. After the defeat of Wu Peifu to Chiang Kai-shek, Jiang was publicly criticized by the Kuomintang. In the face of public opposition Jiang dissolved his party and escaped to Canada.  Jiang served as Canada's first sinologist between 1930 and 1933, when McGill University appointed him as the Professor of Chinese Studies. During his professorship at McGill, Jiang gained international notoriety through attacking Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" in the pages of the "Chinese Christian Student". Jiang wrote that although peasants, coolies, and other humble persons constituted the vast majority of the Chinese population, they "are certainly not representative of the Chinese people." In 1933, Jiang returned to China and devoted himself to promoting socialism and traditional Chinese culture. In 1935, Jiang again visited Taiyuan, after Yan Xishan announced plans to implement a system of land reform in Shanxi. Jiang's impression of Yan at this time was so great that Jiang wrote an article lavishing praise on Yan, calling the warlord a "practical rather than a theoretical socialist."

Collaboration with Wang Jingwei.

After the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, Jiang escaped to Hong Kong. In 1939 he was invited by Wang Jingwei to take a position in Wang's Reorganized National Government of China based in Nanjing. Jiang accepted Wang's offer and traveled to Shanghai, where he wrote "The Shuangshijie Declaration about this Situation" (), asserting the establishment of a New East Asian Order. Jiang was appointed Chief of the Examination Yuan in March 1942.  After the surrender of Japan and collapse of the collaborationist Reorganized National Government of China, Jiang Kanghu was arrested by Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government as a traitor. However, due to the ongoing Chinese Civil War, his case was never brought to trial. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he remained imprisoned in Shanghai at the Tilanqiao Prison. Jiang Kanghu died in prison due to malnutrition and tuberculosis on December 7, 1954.

Jiang Kanghu (; Hepburn: "Kō Kōko"), who preferred to be known in English as Kiang Kang-hu, (July 18, 1883 – December 7, 1954), was a politician and activist in the Republic of China. His former name was "Shaoquan" () and he also wrote under the name "Hsü An-ch'eng"().

江亢虎(1883年-7月18日-1954年-12月7日),原名绍铨,号洪水、亢庐,祖籍安徽省旌德县江村,生于江西省广信府弋阳县陶湾。中国早期社会主义思想传播者,中国社会党创始人,后担任汪精卫政权的国民政府委员,考试院副院长等职。


The original Palace Hotel (1875–1906).

The original Palace Hotel was built by San Francisco banker and entrepreneur William Chapman Ralston, who heavily depended on his shaky banking empire to help finance the $5 million project. Although Ralston's Bank of California collapsed in late August 1875, and Ralston himself drowned in San Francisco Bay on the same day that he lost control of the institution, it did not interfere with the opening of the Palace Hotel two months later on October 2, 1875. Ralston's business partner in the project was U.S. Senator William Sharon, who had helped cause the collapse of the bank when he dumped his stock in the Comstock Lode. Sharon ended up in full control of the hotel as well as both the bank and Ralston's debts, both of which he paid off at just pennies on the dollar.  With 755 guest rooms, the original Palace Hotel (also known colloquially as the "Bonanza Inn") was at the time of its construction the largest hotel in the Western United States. At in height, the hotel was San Francisco's tallest building for over a decade. The skylighted open center of the building featured a Grand Court overlooked by seven stories of white columned balconies which served as an elegant carriage entrance. Shortly after 1900 this area was converted into a lounge called the "Palm Court". The first chef was Jules Harder and the bartender, William "Cocktail" Boothby, was a fixture at the hotel for some years. The hotel featured large redwood-paneled hydraulic elevators which were known as "rising rooms". Each guest room or suite was equipped with a private bathroom as well as an electric call button to summon a member of the hotel's staff. All guest rooms could be joined together to create suites, or to make up large apartments for long-term residents, and the parlor of each guest room featured a large bay window overlooking the street below.  On November 25, 1890, Mōʻī (King) David Kalakaua visited California aboard the U.S.S. "Charleston" with business between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the US Government. Kalakaua, whose health had been declining, stayed in a suite at the Palace Hotel. Traveling throughout Mexico and Southern California and reportedly drinking excessively, the monarch suffered a stroke in Santa Barbara and was rushed back to San Francisco. Kalakaua fell into a coma in his suite on January 18 and died two days later on January 20, 1891. The official cause of death as listed by US Navy officials was that the king had died from Bright's disease (inflammation of the kidneys).  Financed primarily by Bank of California co-founder William Ralston, it offered many innovative modern conveniences including an intercom system and four oversized hydraulic elevators called lifting rooms. The most notable feature of the hotel was the Grand Court that served as an entry area for horse-drawn carriages. The area was converted to the palm filled "Garden Court" a few years before the 1906 earthquake.  ""A palace truly! Where shall we find its equal? Windsor Hotel, good-bye! you must yield the palm to your great Western rival, as far as structure goes, though in all other respects you may keep the foremost place. There is no other hotel building in the world equal to this. The court of the Grand at Paris is poor compared to that of the Palace. Its general effect at night, when brilliantly lighted, is superb; its furniture, rooms and appointments are all fine, but then it tells you all over it was built to "whip all creation," and the millions of its lucky owner enabled him to triumph.""... Andrew Carnegie, "Round the World" Free guided tours of the hotel are led by volunteers of the San Francisco City Guides, a program of the San Francisco Public Library.  Although the hotel survived the initial damage from the early morning April 18, 1906, San Francisco earthquake, by late that afternoon it had been consumed by the subsequent fires. Notably, tenor Enrico Caruso (who had sung the role of Don José in "Carmen" the night before) was staying in the hotel at the time of the quake, and swore never to return to the city. The urban legend is Caruso, "stood in his nightshirt holding a personally autographed photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt and demanded special treatment."

The "baby" Palace Hotel (1906–1907).

While the ruins of the original hotel were being razed and its permanent replacement built, a temporary 23-room facility known as the "Little" or "Baby" Palace Hotel was quickly designed and constructed about eight blocks west of the Market Street site at the NW corner of Post and Leavenworth Streets. A modest two-story frame structure, the "Baby" Palace was opened with considerable fanfare on November 17, 1906, just seven months after the earthquake and fire had devastated the city.  The hotel only remained open to the public until July 1907, however, when the Palace Hotel Company leased the nearby Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill for ten years, and in turn leased the Post Street building to The Olympic Club for five years as a temporary clubhouse while that organization's facility was also being rebuilt. Within a decade of its construction, the building had already been replaced by a four-story brick apartment block built in 1916, which still occupies much of the northwest corner lot at Post and Leavenworth streets where the "Baby" Palace Hotel had briefly stood.

The "new" Palace Hotel (opened 1909).

Completely rebuilt from the ground up, the "New" Palace Hotel opened on December 19, 1909, and quickly resumed the role of its namesake predecessor as an important San Francisco landmark as well as host to many of the city's great events. While externally much plainer than the original Palace, the new "Bonanza Inn" is in many ways as elegant, sumptuous, and gracious on the inside as the 1875 building. The (also called the "Palm Court")—which occupies the same area that the Grand Court did in the earlier structure—has been one of San Francisco's most prestigious hotel dining rooms since the day it opened.  Equally famous was the located just off the gleaming polished marble, which was dominated by Maxfield Parrish's, of the same name.  The Ralston Room, named for co-founder William Ralston, is off the main lobby to the left of the painting.  The hotel served as the stage for several important events. In 1919, Woodrow Wilson gave speeches in the Garden Court in support of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. In 1923, Warren G. Harding's term as President ended suddenly when he died at the Palace Hotel, in Room 8064, an eighth floor suite that overlooks Market Street. In 1945, the Palace Hotel hosted a banquet to mark the opening session of the United Nations.  The Palace was sold to Sheraton Hotels in 1954 and became the Sheraton-Palace Hotel. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev spoke at a banquet at the Sheraton-Palace during his American tour in 1959. The Garden Court was declared a San Francisco Landmark in 1969. In 1973, not long after Sheraton was bought by ITT, it sold the Palace to the Japanese Kyo-Ya group, along with all of their hotels in the Hawaiian islands. Sheraton continued to manage the hotel and the name stayed the same. The entire structure of the Sheraton-Palace was declared a landmark in 1984.  The Sheraton-Palace Hotel closed on January 8, 1989 for a $150 million restoration that garnered national media attention and numerous awards. It reopened on April 3, 1991, as the Sheraton Palace Hotel, without the hyphen in its name. The Sheraton Palace was placed in The Luxury Collection division of ITT Sheraton when it was founded in 1992. The hotel dropped the Sheraton name in 1995, becoming again the Palace Hotel. In 1997, the finale of the David Fincher film "The Game", starring Michael Douglas, was shot in the hotel's Garden Court.  A 60 story, residential tower addition was proposed in 2006, to be named the Palace Hotel Residential Tower, designed by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Construction never began, due to the global financial crisis that hit in 2008.  The hotel's owners controversially removed the famed Pied Piper mural on March 23, 2013 for sale at a planned auction at Christie's. It was anticipated that the painting might sell for up to $5 million. In the light of strong public opposition to the painting's removal, however, the hotel's owners relented and instead had the painting cleaned, restored, and returned to the bar where it was rehung with considerable fanfare on August 22, 2013.  In 2015 the hotel underwent an extensive renovation to its guest rooms, indoor pool and fitness center, lobby, promenade, and The Garden Court, and also became part of the Marriott chain when Marriott acquired Starwood. In 2016, the Palace was named the Best Historic Hotel in the over 400 guest room category by Historic Hotels of America, an initiative of the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Palace Hotel is a landmark historic hotel in San Francisco, California, located at the southwest corner of Market and New Montgomery streets. The hotel is also referred to as the "new" Palace Hotel to distinguish it from the original 1875 Palace Hotel, which had been demolished after being gutted by the fire caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

皇宫酒店(英语:The Palace Hotel)是加利福尼亚州旧金山的一家历史悠久且颇具盛名的酒店,座落于市场街与新蒙哥马利街口西南角。为了与最初兴建于1875年的皇宫酒店(遭到1906年旧金山大地震引起的火灾损毁后已拆除)作区别,这家酒店又被称作为「新」皇宫酒店(英语:"New" Palace Hotel)。


History.

Miniature versions of baseball have been played for decades, including stickball, improvised by children, using everything from rolled up socks to tennis balls. The ball most commonly used in the game was invented by David N. Mullany at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953 when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year-old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "whiff". The Wiffle Ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball, but is hollow, lightweight, of resilient plastic, and no more than 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. One half is perforated with eight oblong holes; the other half is non-perforated. This construction allows pitchers to throw a tremendous variety of curveballs and risers.  In April 2011, the government of the State of New York proclaimed that wiffle ball, as well as kickball, freeze tag and dodgeball were "unsafe""" and a "significant risk of injury" for children, and declared that any summer camp program that included two or more of such activities would be subject to government regulation. The story became a frequent source of ridicule and amusement, with Parenting.com sarcastically commenting, "According to new legislation introduced in New York State, to survive classic schoolyard games like capture the flag is to cheat death." Wiffle ball executives originally thought the order was a joke. The company has never been sued over safety issues in its 50+ year history. The disapproval of people from across the nation pressured the New York legislature to remove wiffle ball and other entries such as archery and scuba diving from the list of high-risk activities, that require state government oversight.

Game.

The game became popular nationwide by the 1960s, and is played in backyards, on city streets, and on beaches. The game is similar to baseball, and is designed for 2–10 players.

Tournaments.

Tournaments have been the driving force in modern wiffle ball and have been held in the United States and Europe since 1977. That year, Rick Ferroli began holding tournaments in his backyard tribute to Fenway Park in Hanover, Massachusetts. In 1980, the World Wiffleball Championship was established in Mishawaka, Indiana by Jim Bottorff and Larry Grau. With the explosion of the Internet in the 1990s, there are now hundreds of Wiffle ball tournaments played in the United States, most in the same place every year, with a few tournament "circuits". The World Wiffleball Championship remains the oldest tournament in the nation, having moved to the Chicago suburbs in 2013, after introducing regional stops over three decades in Baltimore; Los Angeles; Indianapolis; Eugene, Oregon; and Barcelona, Spain. The tournament is featured at #27 in the book, "101 Baseball Places to Visit Before You Strike Out."  There is a national fast pitch tournament every summer held in Morenci, Michigan as well. This tournament determines which league is the best in the country. It is called the NWLA Tournament.

Fields.

Some wiffle ball players have built fields to resemble major league ballparks. Thomas P. Hannon, Jr. authored a book, "Backyard Ball", on his experiences building a smaller version of Ebbets Field. Patrick M. O'Connor wrote a book, "Little Fenway", about building his versions of Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. But not all wiffle ball fields have been modeled from major league ball parks. Some have created original fields, Strawberry Field in Encino, California being the most exquisite. Rick Messina spent over $700,000 constructing Strawberry Field, which features lights for night games, bleachers, and a press box. He also converted a neighboring house into a clubhouse/pub.  Building fields can lead to controversy and legal issues. In 2008, "The New York Times" published an article about Greenwich, Connecticut teenagers who were forced by the city to tear down a wiffle ball field they had built because of neighbor complaints.

In popular culture.

In his book "The Complete Far Side", cartoonist Gary Larson reproduces a letter he received after including a "wiffle bat" in his cartoon. The letter contains language from Wiffle Ball Incorporated's attorneys: "In the future, when you use the brand name WIFFLE, the entire brand should be capitalized, and it should only be used in reference to a product currently manufactured by The Wiffle Ball, Inc."  In science, it is frequently used by marine biologists as a size reference in photos to measure corals and other objects.

The game of Wiffle ball is a variation of baseball. The Wiffle ball is designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. The game is played using a perforated, light-weight, resilient plastic ball and a long, typically yellow, plastic bat.

威浮球(英语:Wiffle Ball),是一种改良过的棒球,由美国人大卫·穆兰尼(David N. Mullany)于1953年所发明。借由投出去的空气风速流动,造成变化速度极大的变化球,只要是握法正确,不用像专业棒球运动员的标准姿势,就可以投出比棒球幅度还大的变化球,这种球是由塑胶做成,上面有八个风孔,内部中空,打不远但也不容易造成受伤,可说是室内户外皆能参与的运动。台湾旅美职业棒球投手王建民以威浮球练习变化球,而逐渐传到台湾。


Early life.

Morgan was born in London, but lived in Swansea for 11 years. He is the oldest child in his family. He was a student at Morriston Comprehensive School and then studied a BTEC Performing Arts course at Gorseinon College (now Gower College Swansea), before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in his late teens.

Career.

Morgan starred in the first series of the Sky One Television Series "Hex", as Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films such as "Alexander" and "" and the BBC Two television series "The Line of Beauty". He has also appeared in the television series "Doc Martin" and "Casualty" and co-starred in "Mansfield Park" alongside Billie Piper. In 2010 he played the title role in the mini-series "Ben Hur" which first aired on CBC television in Canada and ABC TV in America, on 4 April 2010.  Morgan played Niklaus Mikaelson in The CW's "The Vampire Diaries", and played Lysander in the 2011 film "Immortals", alongside Henry Cavill. BuddyTV ranked him number 84 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011". In January 2013, a back-door pilot for "The Originals", a spin-off series of "The Vampire Diaries", began airing with Morgan starring as Niklaus Mikaelson.

Personal life.

Morgan met actress Persia White on the set of "The Vampire Diaries". The couple got engaged in 2014 after dating since 2011. They married on 5 July 2014 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. He became the stepfather of White's daughter.  Morgan is a supporter of the charity Positive Women, including asking fans to donate to the cause to acknowledge his birthday.

Joseph Morgan (born Joseph Martin; 16 May 1981) is a British actor and director. He is best known for his role as Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson on The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" and its spin-off "The Originals".

约瑟夫·摩根(Joseph Morgan,1981年-5月16日)英国男演员。他最著名的作品是在CW电视台电视剧《吸血鬼日记》中饰演Klaus Mikaelson角色,被剧迷昵称为“大K”。2013年用同一角色拍摄衍生剧《初代吸血鬼》,凭该剧获得2014年人民选择奖“新剧类最受欢迎男演员奖”。


History.

By summer 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army had bombed Nankai University to the ground in Tianjin and occupied areas including the campuses of two of the country's leading universities in Beijing: Peking University and Tsinghua University. These three universities, which were some of the country's most prestigious, modern institutions of higher learning and research, with the agreement of those who led the institutions — men of high standing who had been educated abroad — retreated to Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province (about 900 miles away from Beijing) to unite. By the middle of December 1937, many students had to leave to fight the Japanese when the city of Nanjing fell to enemy forces.  As the Japanese forces were gaining more territory, they bombed Changsha in February 1938. The 800 staff faculty and students who were left had to flee and made the 1,000 mile journey to Kunming, capital of Yunnan province in China's remote and mountainous southwest. It was here that the National Southwest Associated University (commonly known as 'Lianda') was formed. In these extraordinary wartime circumstances for eight years, staff, professors and students had to survive and operate in makeshift quarters that were subjected to sporadic bombing campaigns by the Imperial Japanese forces. There were dire shortages of food, equipment, books, clothing and other essential needs, but they managed to conduct the running of a modern university. Over those years of war (1937-1945), Lianda became famous nationwide for having and producing many of China's most prominent scientists and intellectuals, including the Nobel Prize laureates Yang Chen-Ning and Tsung-Dao Lee.

Aftermath.

When the war ended with victory over the Japanese, the Lianda community, which had entered the war fiercely loyal to the government of Chiang Kai-shek, emerged in 1946 as a bastion of criticism of China’s ruling Kuomintang party. Within three years, the majority of the Lianda community had returned to their north China campuses in Beijing and Tianjin.

When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated University (Lianda) () in Kunming and Mengzi, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. After the war, the universities moved back and resumed their operation. What was left behind in Kunming became the National Kunming Normal University which later emerged as the Yunnan Normal University.

国立西南联合大学,简称西南联大,是抗战时期由当时的北大、清华、南开在云南昆明共同组成的大学,前身为国立长沙临时大学。校务最初由当时清华校长梅贻琦、北大校长蒋梦麟和南开校长张伯苓组成的常务委员会共同管理,后梅贻琦任常务委员会主席,长期主导校务。从1938年4月2日于昆明更名西南联大,5月4日正式开课,至1946年5月4日宣布结束,设立时间共8年整。期间,毕业学生2000余人。抗战胜利以后,西南联大解散,北大、清华、南开分别迁回原址复校,唯有师范学院留昆,也就是国立昆明师范学院(今云南师范大学)。