1.
Vienna
–
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
2.
Charitable organization
–
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization. It differs from types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals as well as social well-being. The legal definition of charitable organization varies according to the country, the regulation, tax treatment, and the way in which charity law affects charitable organizations also varies. Financial figures are important indicators to assess the sustainability of a charity. This information can impact a charitys reputation with donors and societies, and thus, Charitable organizations often depend partly on donations from for-profit-organizations. Such donations to charitable organizations represent a form of corporate philanthropy. Until the mid-18th century, charity was mainly distributed through parish relief, churches, almshouses, Charities were also responsible for education, health, housing and even prisons. It was in the Enlightenment era that charitable and philanthropic activity among voluntary associations, societies, gentlemans clubs, and mutual associations began to flourish in England and the upper-classes increasingly adopted a philanthropic attitude toward the disadvantaged. This new social activism was channeled into the establishment of charitable organizations and this emerging upper-class fashion for benevolence resulted in the incorporation of the first charitable organizations. This was the first such charity in the world and served as the precedent for incorporated associational charities everywhere. Jonas Hanway, another notable philanthropist of the era established The Marine Society in 1756 as the first seafarers charity, by 1763, the Society had recruited over 10,000 men and it was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1772. Hanway was also instrumental in establishing the Magdalen Hospital to rehabilitate prostitutes and these organizations were funded by subscription and run as voluntary associations. Charities also began to adopt campaigning roles, where they would champion a cause, the process was however a lengthy one being finally concluded when Saudi Arabia abolished slavery in 1962. This period also saw growing philosophical debate between those who championed state intervention and those who believed that private charities should provide welfare, thomas Malthus, the political economist, criticized poor relief for paupers on economic and moral grounds and proposed leaving charity entirely to the private sector. His views were influential and informed the Victorian laissez-faire attitude toward state intervention for the poor. During the 19th century, a profusion of charitable organizations were set up to alleviate the conditions of the working class in the slums. The Labourers Friend Society, chaired by Lord Shaftesbury in the United Kingdom in 1830, was set up to working class conditions. This included the promotion of allotment of land to labourers for cottage husbandry that later became the allotment movement and this was one of the first housing associations, a philanthropic endeavour that flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century brought about by the growth of the middle class
3.
EBay
–
EBay Inc. is a multinational e-commerce corporation, facilitating online consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales. It is headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995, and became a notable success story of the dot-com bubble. Today it is a business with operations in about 30 countries. The company manages eBay. com, an auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods. It previously offered online money transfers, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay from 2002 until 2015, the website is free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged fees for listing items and again when those items are sold. The AuctionWeb was founded in California on September 3,1995 by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as part of a personal site. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer explained, Im a collector of broken laser pointers and this was revealed in Adam Cohens book, The Perfect Store, and confirmed by eBay. Reportedly, eBay was simply a hobby for Omidyar until his Internet service provider informed him he would need to upgrade to a business account due to the high volume of traffic to his website. The resulting price increase forced him to start charging those who used eBay and it resulted in the hiring of Chris Agarpao as eBays first employee to handle the number of checks coming in for fees. Jeffrey Skoll was hired as the first president of the company in early 1996, growth was phenomenal, in January 1997 the site hosted 2,000,000 auctions, compared with 250,000 during the whole of 1996. The company officially changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997, originally, the site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyars consulting firm. Omidyar had tried to register the domain name echobay. com, but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, in 1997, the company received $6.7 million in funding from the venture capital firm Benchmark Capital. Meg Whitman was hired as eBay President and CEO in March 1998, at the time, the company had 30 employees, half a million users and revenues of $4.7 million in the United States. EBay went public on September 21,1998, and both Omidyar and Skoll became instant billionaires, eBays target share price of $18 was all but ignored as the price went to $53.50 on the first day of trading. As the company expanded product categories beyond collectibles into almost any saleable item, in February 2002, the company purchased iBazar, a similar European auction web site founded in 1998, and then bought PayPal on October 3,2002. By early 2008, the company had expanded worldwide, counted hundreds of millions of registered users,15, after nearly ten years at eBay, Whitman decided to enter politics
4.
Operetta
–
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. By this time, the part of the genre name had become misleading. With this new connotation, opéra comique had dominated the French operatic stage since the decline of tragédie lyrique, most researchers acknowledge that the credit for creating the operetta form should go to Hervé, a singer, composer, librettist, conductor, and scene painter. In 1842 he wrote the little opérette, LOurs et le pacha, based on the vaudeville show by Scribe. In 1848, Hervé made his first notable appearance on the Parisian stage, with Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança, hervés most famous works are the Gounod-parody Le Petit Faust and Mamzelle Nitouche. Jacques Offenbach further developed and popularized operetta, giving it its enormous vogue during the Second Empire, Offenbachs earliest one-act pieces included Les deux aveugles, Le violoneux and Ba-ta-clan, and his first full-length operetta success was Orphée aux enfers. Offenbachs tradition was carried on by Robert Planquette, André Messager. What characterizes Offenbachs operettas is both the way they portray life, and the extremely frivolous way this is done. The character was modeled after Offenbachs female star Hortense Schneider. Considering how Zolas Nana describes an Offenbach-style operetta performance in Paris, it is not surprising that the mostly male, upper-class audiences in other cities like Vienna and Berlin longed to see these shows in their home towns as well, which inspired worldwide performance of Offenbachs works. The highly erotic way Offenbachs operettas were originally played, with stars like Hortense Schneider created a reaction from certain parts of the general public. Operetta was considered an art form. Indeed, together with its grotesque qualities, frivolity is one of the elements of authentic operetta à la Offenbach. It was only later, when audiences widened and became more middle and lower class, the most significant composer of operetta in the German language was the Austrian Johann Strauss II. His first operetta was Indigo und die vierzig Räuber and his third operetta, Die Fledermaus, became the most performed operetta in the world, and remains his most popular stage work. Its libretto was based on a written by Offenbachs librettists. In all, Strauss wrote 16 operettas and one opera, most with great success when first premiered, many of his lesser operettas are now largely forgotten, since his later librettists were less talented and he often composed independently of the plot. Strausss operettas, waltzes, polkas, and marches often have a strongly Viennese style, the Theater an der Wien never failed to draw huge crowds when his stage works were first performed
5.
Pop music
–
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
6.
Red ribbon
–
The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon, is used as the symbol for the prevention of illegal drugs, drunk driving, and to stop drugs. Also solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS, the red ribbon is a symbol for drunk driving prevention, drug prevention, Blood disorders such as HELLP Syndrome and for the fight against AIDS. The Red Ribbon Foundation and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are examples of organizations that utilize the red ribbon symbol, MADD is an organization founded in 1980 whose mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. In 1986, MADD started the Tie One On For Safety campaign and it is MADD’s longest running and most visible public awareness project. During the holiday season, drivers are encouraged to tie MADD red ribbons to visible locations on their vehicles, the red ribbons represent the drivers’ commitment to drive safe, sober and buckled up. It also encourages others to designate a sober driver before drinking, the Red Ribbon was used as an awareness symbol made by after DEA Agent Enrique Camarena was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered while working undercover in Guadalajara, Mexico. Citizens in his town of Calexico, California donned the ribbons to emphasize the need for increased prevention efforts. In 1988, Red Ribbon Week, sponsored by National Family Partnership and it is celebrated from October 23 through October 31. The Red Ribbon Project was created by the New York-based Visual AIDS Artists Caucus in 1991, the artists who formed the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus wished to create a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with AIDS and their caregivers. First worn publicly by Jeremy Irons at the 1991 Tony Awards, the Red Ribbon continues to be a powerful force in the fight to increase public awareness of HIV/AIDS and in the lobbying efforts to increase funding for AIDS services and research. The display, now a tradition, quickly garnered attention, as it was the first banner. At fairs and competitions in Canada, a red ribbon is awarded to the winning competitor and it is used for second place in the United States for horticultural fairs
7.
ORF (broadcaster)
–
Österreichischer Rundfunk is the Austrian national public service broadcaster. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, austria was the last country in continental Europe after Albania to allow nationwide private television broadcasting. September 2, it aired a first broadcast address by Austrian President Michael Hainisch, one year later, a powerful transmitter, designed by the German Telefunken company, was installed on the roof of the former War Ministry building on Ringstraße in central Vienna. Regular transmissions began on 1 October 1924 from provisional studios inside the War Ministry building that were to become known as Radio Wien, by the end of October 1924 it already had 30,000 listeners, and by January 1925100,000. Relay transmitters, established across the country by 1934, ensured that all Austrians could listen to Radio Wien at a fee of two schillings. Radio programmes aimed at an audience, featuring classical music, literature. First live radio broadcasts aired in 1925, transmitted from the Vienna State Opera, on the other hand, news broadcasts only played a minor part out of deference to the Austrian press and the neutralism policy of the federal government. Nevertheless, also regular sportcasts began 1928 and in 1930 the Austrian legislative election was comprehensively covered, at that time, RAVAG registered about 500,000 listeners, having become a mass medium. One of the last RAVAG transmissions was Schuschniggs farewell address on March 11, in 1939, the former RAVAG transmission facilities were taken over by the German Reichspost. In World War II, listening to Feindsender became an offence, however. Reichssender Wien transmissions were important for strategic bombing alerts, the Funkhaus broadcasting centre itself was damaged by Allied bombs in January and February 1945, followed by the Red Army Vienna Offensive. Reichssender Wien last aired 6 April, before retiring SS troops blew up the Bisamberg transmitter, the RAVAG transmissions limited to the East Austrian Soviet occupation zone, and in the beginning Cold War era were increasingly considered Communist propaganda broadcasting. A number of radio stations began broadcasting in the different occupation zones and radio become a popular medium among Austrians. The Western Allies could operate their programmes nationwide from Vienna, with a higher popularity rating than the outdated RAVAG transmissions. In 1955, the regional stations were brought together as the Österreichisches Rundspruchwesen which later, in 1958, became the Österreichischer Rundfunk GmbH. All of ORFs domestic radio channels are also streamed over the internet, a version of Ö1 is broadcast internationally via short wave as Ö1 International. Its schedule includes a number of programmes in English and Spanish. An additional service, Radio 1476, formerly broadcast on medium wave each evening from 18.00 until just after midnight and its schedule was a mixture of items from Ö1, programmes for linguistic and cultural minorities, folk music, and special productions
8.
3sat
–
3sat is a public, advertising-free, television network in Central Europe. The programming is in German and is aimed primarily at audiences in Germany, Austria, 3sat was established to broadcast cultural programmes, originally by satellite. The network was founded as a network by Germanys ZDF, Austrias ORF. 3sat began broadcasting on 1 December 1984, ZDF leads the cooperative, though decisions are reached through consensus of the cooperatives partners. In 1990, DFF, television broadcaster of the German Democratic Republic became a member of 3sat. Eventually it was decided to keep the original 3sat name, dFFs membership of 3sat was dissolved on 31 December 1991, as DFF itself ceased to exist, in accordance with Germanys Unification Treaty. On 1 December 1993, ARD joined 3sat as a cooperative member and this followed ARDs creation of its own satellite channel, Eins Plus. 3sat broadcasts programming 24 hours a day,7 days a week, 3sat is available on the European Astra satellites at 19. 2° east, on cable television, and in Austria and Germany on digital terrestrial television. Since 2003, it can be viewed by 40 million households in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and 85.5 million households in Europe
9.
Puls 4
–
Puls 4 is a terrestrial television channel in Austria. As its name implies, it is the fourth Austrian-wide full-service television channel, behind ORF eins, ORF2, Puls 4 began as a local Vienna television station called Puls TV. In 2007, ProSiebenSat.1 Media took over the station outright, on 28 January 2008, with the addition of a nightly newscast, the station relaunched as Puls 4, Austrias fourth general terrestrial network. Austrias Next Topmodel NFL The 4400 Cagney and Lacey CSI, Miami Dawsons Creek Diagnosis Murder Edel & Starck extra 3 The Guardian Highway To Heaven Law & Order Law & Order, SVU Magnum, miss Earth Miami Vice Numb3rs The Shield Americas Next Top Model Royal Pains
10.
TIMM (TV)
–
TIMM is a German language free-to-air cable and satellite service from Germany targeting gay male audiences. It was first launched on November 1,2008 and it was also available over a live stream. TIMM is a lifestyle and entertainment channel with an array of programming including dramas, comedies, films, lifestyle series. As of February 1,2009 it airs 24/7, in January 2010, the Deutsche Fernsehwerke GmbH, owner of TIMM, applied for insolvency proceedings. TIMM stopped airing via Astra 1L as of 22 February 2010, timmTV. com DFW website TIMM at LyngSat Address
11.
Roseanne Barr
–
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, and television producer. She was also the 2012 presidential nominee of the California-based Peace, Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the television sitcom Roseanne. The show ran for nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997 and she won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show. In 1974, she married Bill Pentland, with whom she had three children, before divorcing in 1990 and marrying comedian Tom Arnold for four years. Controversy arose when she sang The Star-Spangled Banner off-key at a 1990 nationally aired baseball game, followed by grabbing her crotch, after her sitcom ended, she launched her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, which aired from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, she returned to comedy with a world tour. In 2011, she starred in an unscripted TV show, Roseannes Nuts, in early 2012, Barr announced her candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Green Party. Barr lost the nomination to Jill Stein and she then sought the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, which she won on August 4,2012. Barr received 61,971 votes in the election, placing sixth overall. Barr was born in Salt Lake City, to a working-class Jewish family and she is the oldest of four children born to Helen, a bookkeeper and cashier, and Jerome Hershel Jerry Barr, who worked as a salesman. Her fathers family were Jewish immigrants from Russia, and her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary and Lithuania. Her paternal grandfather changed his surname from Borisofsky to Barr upon entering the United States and her Jewish upbringing was influenced by her devoutly Orthodox Jewish maternal grandmother. Barrs parents kept their Jewish heritage secret from their neighbors and were involved in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Barr has stated, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning I was a Jew, Sunday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon, when Barr was three years old, she got Bells palsy on the left side of her face. Barr said, my mother called in a rabbi to pray for me, then my mother got a Mormon preacher, he prayed, and I was miraculously cured. Years later Barr learned that Bells palsy was usually temporary and that the Mormon preacher came exactly at the right time, at six years old, Barr discovered her first public stage by lecturing at LDS churches around Utah and even was elected president of a Mormon youth group. At 16, Barr was hit by a car that left her with a brain injury. Her behavior changed so radically that she was institutionalized for eight months at Utah State Hospital, while institutionalized she had a baby, which she gave up for adoption
12.
Catherine Deneuve
–
Catherine Deneuve is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model and producer. She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof, mysterious beauties for various directors, including Luis Buñuel, Francois Truffaut, in 1985, she succeeded Mireille Mathieu as the official face of Marianne, Frances national symbol of liberty. A 14-time César Award nominee, she won for her performances in Truffauts The Last Metro and she is also noted for her support for a variety of liberal causes. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for Belle de Jour, and she also won the 1998 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Place Vendôme. Other films include Scene of the Crime, My Favourite Season,8 Women and her English-language films include The April Fools, Hustle, The Hunger and Dancer in the Dark. In 2015, she starred in The Brand New Testament and Standing Tall, Deneuve was born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac in Paris, France, the daughter of French stage actors Maurice Dorléac and Renée Simonot. Deneuve was her mothers name, which she chose for her stage name. Her work for Buñuel would be her most famous, further prominent films from this early time in her career included Jean-Paul Rappeneaus A Matter of Resistance, and Demys musical Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. Her starring roles at the time were featured in films as A Slightly Pregnant Man with Marcello Mastroianni. She made her film as a producer in 1988, Drôle dendroit pour une rencontre. In 1997, Deneuve was the protagonist in the video for the song NOubliez Jamais sung by Joe Cocker. In 1998 she won acclaim and the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in Place Vendôme. In the late 1990s, Deneuve continued to appear in a number of films such as 1999s five films Est-Ouest, Le temps retrouvé, Pola X, Belle maman. In 2000, Deneuves part in Lars von Triers musical drama Dancer in the Dark alongside Icelandic singer Björk was subject to critical scrutiny. The film was selected for the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival and she made another foray into Hollywood the following year, starring in The Musketeer for Peter Hyams. In 2002, she shared the Silver Bear Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in 8 Women. In 2005, Deneuve published her diary A lombre de moi-meme, in it she writes about her experiences shooting the films Indochine and she also provided the voice role of Marjane Satrapis mother in Satrapis animated autobiographical film Persepolis, based on the graphic novel of the same name. In 2008, she appeared in her 100th film, Un conte de Noël, during an interview at the Cannes Film Festival with Ali Naderzad, Deneuve was asked which was her own favorite film
13.
Liza Minnelli
–
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is considered both an American icon and a gay icon, Minnelli is the daughter of film actress and singer Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. She began her career as a teenager in New York City as a theatre actress. Minnelli also regularly performed with her famous mother, including a 1964 joint engagement at the London Palladium and in Garlands own CBS television series The Judy Garland Show. In 1965 she made her Broadway debut in the musical Flora the Red Menace and was awarded the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and her other film roles have included Golden Globe Award nominated performances in Lucky Lady, New York, New York and Arthur. She has successfully returned to the Broadway stage on a number of occasions, from the late 1970s onwards, Minnellis work has predominantly focused on concert tours and nightclub performances. She gave highly regarded performances at Carnegie Hall in 1979 and 1987, in the late 1980s she toured alongside Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. in Frank, Liza & Sammy, The Ultimate Event. Minnelli was born on March 12,1946 in Hollywood, California, to Vincente Minnelli and she attended New York Citys High School of Performing Arts and Chadwick School. Her first performing experience on film was at age three where she appeared in the scene of the musical In the Good Old Summertime. The film stars Garland and Van Johnson, Minnelli has a half-sister, Lorna, and half-brother, Joey, from Garlands marriage to Sid Luft. She also has another half-sister, Christiane Nina Minnelli, from her fathers second marriage, Minnellis godparents were Kay Thompson and Ira Gershwin. Her parents named her after Ira Gershwins song Liza, during 1961, Minnelli was an apprentice at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis, Massachusetts. She appeared in the chorus of Flower Drum Song and played the part of Muriel in Take Me Along, Minnelli began performing professionally at age 17, in 1963, in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received the Theatre World Award. The next year, her mother invited Liza to perform with her in concert at the London Palladium, both concerts were recorded and released as an album. She attended Scarsdale High School for one year, starring in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank which then went to Israel on tour and she turned to Broadway at 19, and won her first Tony Award as a leading actress for Flora the Red Menace. It was the first time she worked with the musical duo John Kander, Minnelli began as a nightclub singer as an adolescent, making her professional nightclub debut at the age of 19 at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D. C. That same year she began appearing in clubs and on stage in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami. Her success as a performer led to her recording several albums for Capitol Records
14.
Sharon Stone
–
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She received further acclaim and Golden Globe Award nominations for her roles in the 1998 drama The Mighty, in 2004, Stone won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in The Practice. In 2005, she was named Officer of the Order of Arts, Sharon Yvonne Stone was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Dorothy Marie, an accountant, and Joseph William Stone II, a tool and die manufacturer and factory worker. She has a sister, Kelly, and two brothers, Michael and Patrick Stone, Stone was considered academically gifted as a child and entered the second grade when she was five years old. She graduated from Saegertown High School in Saegertown, Pennsylvania in 1975, while attending Edinboro University, Stone won the title of Miss Crawford County, Pennsylvania and was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania. One of the pageant judges told her to school and move to New York City to become a fashion model. In 1977, Stone left Meadville, moving in with an aunt in New Jersey and she was signed by Ford Modeling Agency in New York City. Stone later moved to Europe and while living there, she decided to quit modeling, so I packed my bags, moved back to New York, and stood in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie, she later recalled. Stone was cast for a role in Allens Stardust Memories. French director Claude Lelouch cast her in Les Uns et les Autres and she was on screen for two minutes and did not appear in the credits. In 1983, she appeared in the short-lived sports-themed television series Bay City Blues, playing Cathy St. Marie and her next film role was in Irreconcilable Differences, starring Ryan ONeal, Shelley Long, and a young Drew Barrymore. Stone played a starlet who breaks up the marriage of a successful director, in 1984, she appeared in Echoes of the Mind, a two-part episode of Magnum, P. I. playing identical twins, one a love interest of Tom Sellecks character. Through the remainder of the 1980s, she had roles in films as King Solomons Mines and Allan Quatermain. In 1988, she played Janice Henry for the filming of the miniseries War and her appearance in Dutch film director Paul Verhoevens sci-fi action film Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger gave Stones career a boost. To coincide with the release, she posed nude for Playboy. In 1999, she was rated among the 25 sexiest stars of the century by Playboy, in another Verhoeven film was the role that made her a star, playing Catherine Tramell, a brilliant, bisexual, alleged serial killer, in Basic Instinct. Several actresses at the time turned down the role, mostly because of the nudity required, in the films most notorious scene, Tramell is being questioned by the police, and she crosses and uncrosses her legs, exposing her vulva, which is not covered by underwear. Later, when I saw it in the screening I was shocked, I think seeing it in a room full of strangers was so disrespectful and so shocking, so I went into the booth and slapped him and left
15.
Dita Von Teese
–
Dita Von Teese is an American burlesque dancer, vedette, model, costume designer, entrepreneur and occasional actress. She is thought to have helped repopularize burlesque performance, and was married to Marilyn Manson. Von Teese was born in Rochester, Michigan, the middle of three daughters and her father was a machinist and her mother a manicurist. She is of English, Scottish, Armenian, and German heritage, Dita has stated that one of her grandmothers was half-Armenian and adopted into an Anglo-Saxon American family. Von Teese is known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic vintage style and this began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for her daughter to dress up. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden Age-era Hollywood films and she was classically trained as a ballet dancer from an early age, and danced solo at age 13 for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Von Teese states that by 15 and she was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe. The family relocated from Michigan to Orange County, California, when her fathers job moved, Von Teese attended University High School in Irvine, California. When Von Teese was a teenager, her mother took her to buy her first bra, made from white cotton. Von Teese says she was disappointed, as she had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings and this fueled her passion for lingerie. She worked in a store as a salesgirl when she was 15. Von Teese has been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets, in college, Von Teese studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for films. She is a costume designer, often designing her photo shoots herself. Von Teese got her name by adopting the name Dita as a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo. For her breakthrough December 2002 Playboy cover, she was required to have a surname, in the magazine, this was misspelled as Von Teese, which she decided to stick with. Von Teese achieved some level of recognition in the world as a tightlacer. Through the wearing of a corset for many years, she had reduced her waistline to 22 inches, Von Teese appeared on a number of fetish magazine covers, including Bizarre and Marquis. It was around this time when she appeared on the cover of Midoris book, Von Teese was featured in Playboy in 1999,2001, and 2002, with a cover-featured pictorial in 2002
16.
Anastacia
–
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk is an American singer-songwriter, producer and former dancer. She is best known for her pop music of the early 2000s which had a significant impact in Europe. Her first two albums Not That Kind and Freak of Nature were released in succession to major success. Spurred on by the multi-platinum, global smash Im Outta Love and her commercial appeal continued with international hits such as Paid My Dues, One Day In Your Life and the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Boom. After recovering from cancer, she returned with 2004s Anastacia which deviated from previous albums into pop-rock, peaking at number one in 11 countries, it became Europes second biggest selling album of the year. Its lead Left Outside Alone remained at one on the European Billboard chart for 15 weeks. In 2005, the multi-platinum compilation project Pieces of a Dream was released which spawned the chart topping duet with Eros Ramazzotti, Anastacia established herself as one of the top selling international female pop-singers of the 2000s before taking a hiatus in late 2006. She has sold over 52 million records worldwide and has topped the U. S. dance chart on two separate occasions. In 2014, Anastacia made a comeback with her studio album Resurrection, which reached the top ten in the Italian, Netherlands, Switzerland, German. Her Ultimate Collection was released in 2015 and peaked in the top ten of the UK charts, known for her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her small stature of 5 feet 2 inches, she has been dubbed the little lady with the big voice. Also famed for her glasses, she underwent corrective lasic surgery in August 2005. During her life Anastacia has battled many health problems and she was diagnosed with Crohns disease at age 13, breast cancer at age 34, and supraventricular tachycardia at age 39. In 2013 Anastacia was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, on October 1,2013 to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Anastacia informed the media that she had undergone a double mastectomy. Anastacia was born in Chicago, Illinois, her late father Robert Newkirk was a club-singer and her mother Diane Hurley an actress on Broadway, after her father left the Newkirk family, they moved to New York City when she was a teenager. Then she enrolled at the Professional Childrens School in Manhattan, Anastacia was diagnosed with Crohns disease when she was thirteen. Despite her illness she soon became interested in dance, at age 19, a diet triggered a Crohns relapse. Despite her ongoing health problems Anastacia continued to pursue her ambitions for the next decade, Anastacia started her career in 1983 as a dancer for hire. Her first claim to fame was as a dancer, making regular appearances in the mid-1980s and early-90s on MTVs Club MTV
17.
Heidi Klum
–
Heidi Klum is a German-American model, television personality, businesswoman, fashion designer, singer, television producer, and occasional actress. She appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and she has worked as a spokesmodel for Dannon and H&M, and has appeared in numerous commercials for McDonalds, Volkswagen and others. In 2009, Klum became Barbies official ambassador on Barbies 50th anniversary, as an occasional actress, she had supporting roles in movies including Blow Dry, Ella Enchanted, and made cameo appearances in The Devil Wears Prada and Perfect Stranger. She has also appeared on TV shows including Sex and the City, How I Met Your Mother, Desperate Housewives and Parks, currently, Klum is a judge on the NBC reality show Americas Got Talent. In May 2011, Forbes magazine estimated Klums total earnings for that year as US$20 million and she is ranked second on Forbes list of the Worlds Top-Earning Models, behind Gisele Bündchen. Forbes noted that since ending her 13-year run as a Victorias Secret Angel, in 2008, she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship. Klum was born and raised in Bergisch Gladbach, a town outside Cologne and she is the daughter of Erna, a hairdresser, and Günther Klum, a cosmetics company executive. A friend convinced her to enroll in a modeling contest called Model 92. Out of 25,000 contestants, Klum was voted the winner on April 29,1992, after winning, she appeared on the Gottschalk Late Night Show, a German television show with host Thomas Gottschalk. She accepted the contract a few months later after graduating from school, Klum has been featured on the cover of French, German, Portuguese and Spanish Vogue magazines, as well as Elle, InStyle, Marie Claire, Glamour and Russian Harpers Bazaar magazines. She became widely known after appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Klum has hosted the 2002,2006,2007, and 2009 Victorias Secret Fashion Shows. On October 1,2010, the New York Post reported in its Page Six gossip column that Klum would be leaving Victorias Secret and she wrote the foreword to Gairs book of body paint work, Body Painting, Masterpieces. She was a spokesmodel for McDonalds, Braun, Dannon, H & M, since 2007, she has been a celebrity spokesmodel for Jordache and Volkswagen. In addition to modeling, she has appeared in several TV shows, including Spin City, Sex and the City, Yes, Dear, and How I Met Your Mother. She had a role as a hair model in the movie Blow Dry, played a giantess in the movie Ella Enchanted and was cast as Ursula Andress in The Life. She had cameo appearances in the films The Devil Wears Prada and her other projects include dance and video games. She is featured in the 2003 video game James Bond 007, Everything or Nothing, the latter video depicts the married couple sharing intimate moments while naked in bed, the concept was Klums idea. In July 2007, having earned US$8 million in the previous 16 months, in 2008, Forbes estimated her income at US$16 million, putting Klum in first place
18.
Naomi Campbell
–
Naomi Elaine Campbell is a British supermodel and actress. Campbell is also involved in charity work for various causes and her personal life has been widely reported over the years, particularly her four highly publicised convictions for assault. Campbell was born in Streatham, South London, the daughter of Jamaican-born dancer Valerie Morris, in accordance with her mothers wishes, Campbell has never met her father, who abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant and was unnamed on her birth certificate. She took on the surname Campbell from her mothers second marriage and her half-brother, Pierre, was born in 1985. Campbell is of Afro-Jamaican descent, as well as of Chinese Jamaican ancestry through her paternal grandmother, during her early years, Campbell lived in Rome, where her mother worked as a modern dancer. Following their return to London, she was left in the care of relatives while her mother travelled across Europe with the dance troupe Fantastica. From the age of three, Campbell attended the Barbara Speake Stage School, and at 10 years old, she was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet. Campbells first public appearance came at the age of seven, in 1978, at the age of 12 she tap-danced in the music video for Culture Clubs Ill Tumble 4 Ya. In 1986, while still a student of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Campbell was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the Synchro Model Agency and her career quickly took off—in April, just before her 16th birthday she appeared on the cover of British Elle. By the late 1980s, Campbell, with Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, formed a trio known as the Trinity, in December 1987, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue, as that publications first black cover girl since 1966. The group was subsequently cast to star in the video for George Michaels Freedom. By then, Campbell, Turlington, Evangelista, Crawford, with the addition of newcomer Kate Moss, they were collectively known as the Big Six. Later that year, she starred as Michael Jacksons love interest in the video for In the Closet. In April 1992, she posed with several other top models for the cover of American Vogue. That same year, she appeared in Madonnas controversial book Sex, in a set of photos with Madonna. In 1993, Campbell twice appeared on the cover of American Vogue, in April, alongside Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, and Helena Christensen, and again, solo, in June. She famously fell on the catwalk in Vivienne Westwoods foot-high platform shoes, elite founder John Casablancas described her as manipulative, scheming, rude, and impossible. In the mid-1990s, Campbell branched out other areas of the entertainment industry
19.
Jenna Jameson
–
Jenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur, webcam model and former pornographic film actress, who has been called the worlds most famous adult entertainment performer and The Queen of Porn. She started acting in erotic videos in 1993 after having worked as a stripper, by 1996, she had won the top newcomer award from each of the three major adult-movie organizations. She has since won more than 35 adult-video awards, and has been inducted into the X-Rated Critics Organization, Jameson founded the adult-entertainment company ClubJenna in 2000 with Jay Grdina, whom she later married and divorced. Initially a single website, this expanded into managing similar websites of other stars. The first such movie, Briana Loves Jenna, was named at the 2003 AVN Awards as the best-selling and best-renting pornographic title for 2002, by 2005, ClubJenna had revenues of US$30 million with profits estimated at half that. Advertisements for her site and films, often bearing her picture, have towered on a 48-foot-tall billboard in New York Citys Times Square, Jameson has also crossed over into mainstream pop culture, starting with a minor role in Howard Sterns 1997 film Private Parts. Her mainstream appearances continued with several guest-hosting and guest-starring on various television programs, Playboy TV hosted her Jennas American Sex Star reality show, in which aspiring porn stars competed for a ClubJenna contract. Her 2004 autobiography, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, A Cautionary Tale, Jameson announced her retirement from pornography at the 2008 AVN Awards, stating that she would never return to the industry. Although she no longer performs in films, she has been working as a webcam model since 2013. Jenna Marie Massoli was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and her father, Laurence Henry Massoli, was a police officer at the Las Vegas Sheriffs Department and program director for KSNV-DT. Her mother, Judith Brooke Hunt, was a Las Vegas showgirl who danced in the Folies Bergère show at the Tropicana Resort & Casino and her mother died of melanoma on February 20,1976, two months prior to her daughters second birthday. The cancer treatments bankrupted the family and they relocated in Nevada, Arizona and Montana and she and her older brother Tony were raised Catholic, though they were essentially left to parent each other. Jameson was a frequent entrant in beauty pageants as a child, in a featurette on the Zombie Strippers DVD, Jameson indicates she trained in dance for fifteen years. The incident began after she attempted to hitchhike home and that she entered the car of the four boys while believing that she would be driven to her home and she reported being raped a second time while still 16 by Preacher, her boyfriend Jacks biker uncle. Preacher has denied the rape ever occurred, rather than tell her father, she left home and moved in with Jack in her first serious relationship. Jack was a tattoo artist and gave her the first of a series of tattoos, one of which would become her trademark tattoo, according to E. her brother Tony, who later owned a tattoo parlor himself, added the inscription Heart Breaker. She tried to follow in her mothers career as a Las Vegas showgirl and she was hired at Disneyland Resort, but left after two months stating concerns over the schedule and salary. Her boyfriend Jack encouraged her to apply for jobs as a dancer, after she was rejected from the Crazy Horse Too strip club because of her orthodontia, she removed her braces with pliers and was accepted
20.
Helmut Zilk
–
Helmut Zilk was an Austrian journalist and politician in the Austrian Social Democratic Party. Born in Vienna, Zilk was Mayor of Vienna from 1984 to 1994, in December 1993 he was severely injured when he opened a letter bomb which had been sent to his home in Innere Stadt by Franz Fuchs. Zilk died on 24 October 2008 of heart failure, after arriving home sick from a vacation in Portugal and he was married to Austrian musical star, Dagmar Koller. In October 1998, the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung accused Helmut Zilk of having collaborated with Czechoslovak secret police during the 1960s, based on this and also on information from the StB archives, Zilk was denied a planned Czech medal of honour. The affair was covered by Czech and Austrian media. In 1998 the Czech presidential office cleared Zilk and president Havel apologized to him in person, in 2009, the StB documents on Zilk were made public. These documents record 58 meetings between Zilk and secret agents during 1965–68. Zilk had provided information about the situation in Austria and assessments of individual Austrian politicians, for this he was paid in money. After the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia Ladislav Bittman, one of the agents in contact with Zilk, defected to the West and leaked information about him. Some Czech media speculated that the political and journalistic career of Zilk. Media related to Helmut Zilk at Wikimedia Commons
21.
Thierry Mugler
–
Thierry Mugler is a French fashion designer and creator of several perfumes. Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France and his passion led him to focus more on drawing than on school, and at the age of 9, he began to study classical dance. By 14, he joined the corps for the Rhin Opera. At the same time, Mugler began formal interior design training at the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts, at the age of 24, Mugler moved to Paris, France. He began designing clothes for Parisian boutique, Gudule, at 26, Mugler, who was working as a freelance designer, began to design for a variety of large ready-to-wear fashion houses in Paris, Milan, London and Barcelona. In 1973, Mugler created his first personal collection called Café de Paris, the style of the collection was both sophisticated and urban. Melka Tréanton, a fashion editor, helped to launch his career. In 1976, she asked him to show his work in Tokyo for an event organized by Shiseido, in 1978, he opened his first Paris boutique at the Place des Victoires in the 1er Arrondissement). At the same time, Thierry Mugler launched a collection for men. For this collection, he reworked classical masculinity, giving it a modern style. A clean, precise, structured cut which outlined a highly recognizable silhouette, prominent shoulders, during the 1980s and 1990s, Thierry Mugler became an internationally recognized designer, and his collections garnered much commercial success. At the request of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and he created the famous black dress worn by Demi Moore in the 1993 movie, Indecent Proposal. His clothes are identified by their style and their structure, Mugler, over the next two decades created a style that was very much of its time, it was strong, angular, and sometimes almost cruel. Shoulders were wide and padded, waists were wasp like, prints were banished, Mugler”s clothes came in solid, dominating colors. Collars had exaggerated points, or flame like cutouts, the insect kingdom was a constant influence, as were the ladies and gentlemen of film noir. PVC was often used as his material for his pieces, used to create space. Mugler published his first photography book in 1988, Thierry Mugler and this was followed by a monograph in 1999 entitled, Fashion Fetish Fantasy which assembles photos of his creations. Mugler also directs films, advertising films and video clips
22.
Sponsor (commercial)
–
Sponsoring something is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is known as sponsor. Sponsorship is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property in return for access to the commercial potential associated with that property. While the sponsoree may be nonprofit, unlike philanthropy, sponsorship is done with the expectation of a commercial return, while sponsorship can deliver increased awareness, brand building and propensity to purchase, it is different from advertising. Unlike advertising, sponsorship can not communicate specific product attributes, nor can it stand alone, as sponsorship requires support elements. A range of psychological and communications theories have been used to explain how commercial sponsorship works to impact consumer audiences, cornwell, Weeks and Roy have published an extensive review of the theories so far used to explain commercial sponsorship effects. Title sponsor is highest status of sponsorship and it characterizes the most significant contribution to a company in organizing and hosting an event. Often the name of sponsor is placed next to the name of competition, teams. In case of title sponsors presence the general sponsor position may remain free, general sponsor is a sponsor that makes one of the largest contributions and that receives for it the right to use the image of competition as well as extensive media coverage. If necessary, the status of the sponsor may be supplemented by the general sponsors for certain categories. Official sponsor is a sponsor that makes a part of raised funds. Typically, the status may be granted by category. Technical sponsor is a sponsor which promotes organization of sporting events through the partial or full payment of goods, participating sponsor is a company, the sponsorship fee size of which usually does not exceed 10% of total raised funds. Informational sponsor is an organization that provides support through media coverage, conducting PR-actions, joint actions. All sponsorship should be based on contractual obligations between the sponsor and the sponsored party, sponsors and sponsored parties should set out clear terms and conditions with all other partners involved, to define their expectations regarding all aspects of the sponsorship deal. Sponsorship should be recognisable as such, the terms and conduct of sponsorship should be based upon the principle of good faith between all parties to the sponsorship. There should be clarity regarding the rights being sold and confirmation that these are available for sponsorship from the rights holder. Sponsored parties should have the right to decide on the value of the sponsorship rights that they are offering
23.
MTV
–
MTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. Launched on August 1,1981, the originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys. In its early years, MTVs main target demographic was young adults and it has received criticism towards this change of focus, both by certain segments of its audience and musicians. MTVs influence on its audience, including issues involving censorship and social activism, has also been a subject of debate for several years, in recent years, MTV had struggled with the secular decline of music-related cable media. In April 2016, MTV announced it would start to return to its original music roots with the reintroduction of the classic MTV series MTV Unplugged. It was also reported that the series MTV Cribs would be making a return on Snapchat, MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the US and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. As of July 2015, approximately 92,188,000 US households have received MTV, several earlier concepts for music video-based television programming had been around since the early 1960s. The Beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid-1960s, CBS rejected the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition Classical Gas on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. The series featured clips from various popular artists, but was canceled by its distributor in 1971. The channel, which featured video disc jockeys, signed a deal with US Cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television, the service was no longer active by the time MTV launched in 1981. The QUBE system offered many specialized channels, One of these specialized channels was Sight on Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music-oriented television programs. With the interactive QUBE service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs, the original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer of MTV Networks. Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, the inspiration for PopClips came from a similar program on New Zealands TVNZ network named Radio with Pictures, which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when record companies began supplying the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. Few artists made the trip to New Zealand to appear live. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of hour in various forms. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star and this was followed by the video for Pat Benatars You Better Run. Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR, MTVs lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos would eventually use the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years
24.
Hofburg
–
The Hofburg is the former imperial palace in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was the principal winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence. Since 1279 the Hofburg area has been the seat of government. The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to various residences, the imperial chapel, the imperial library, the treasury, the Burgtheater, the Spanish Riding School. The palace faces the Heldenplatz ordered under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph I, as part of what was planned to become the Kaiserforum, the name translates as Royal Castle, which denotes its origins when it was initially constructed during the Medieval Age. Initially constructed as the seat of the Dukes of Austria in the 13th century, from 1438 to 1583 and from 1612 to 1806, it was the seat of the Habsburg kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, thereafter the seat of the Emperor of Austria until 1918. It has continued its role as the seat of the head of state and is used by the Austrian Federal President. It is also the permanent conference seat of the Organization for Security, presently the Burghauptmannschaft is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Economy. In September 1958 parts of the Hofburg were opened to the public as a convention centre, in the first ten years the Burghauptmannschaft operated the convention centre, since 1969 a private company has been managing the international congress and events center. Every year the centre hosts about 300 to 350 events with around 300,000 to 320,000 guests. Among the events are conventions and meetings as well as banquets, trade fairs, concerts, the oldest sections originate from the 13th century and were primarily constructed by the last of the Babenbergers or by Ottakar II of Bohemia. Previously the castle of the Austrian rulers had been located on the square called Am Hof, the castle had a square-shaped outline with four turrets, surrounded by a moat and a drawbridge that led to the inside. These oldest sections of the castle form the Swiss Court. There situated are a chapel, from the 15th century, and the treasury, which holds, among other objects, the imperial insignia of the Holy Roman Empire. The Court Music Chapel is located in the Court Chapel and this is where the Vienna Boys Choir traditionally sing for Sunday mass. The appearance of the Swiss Court was given during the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I during the Renaissance, the entry Swiss Gate displays the many titles of Emperor Ferdinand I and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece painted on the ceiling. An adjoining section of the Swiss Wing houses the Radetzky Apartments, next to the Knights Hall is the Guard Room, where the duty officer of the Household Guards kept watch over the emperor. The lower section of this wing once accommodated the imperial kitchen, although not physically connected to the rest of the complex, the imperial mews of the Hofburg were originally built as a residence for the then crown prince Maximilian II
25.
Elizabeth Taylor
–
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress, businesswoman, and humanitarian. She began as an actress in the early 1940s, and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. She continued her career successfully into the 1960s, and remained a well known figure for the rest of her life. The American Film Institute named her the seventh-greatest female screen legend in 1999, Born in London to wealthy, socially prominent American parents, Taylor moved with her family to Los Angeles in 1939, and she soon was given a film contract by Universal Pictures. Her screen debut was in a role in Theres One Born Every Minute. Taylor was then signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and had her breakthrough role in National Velvet, becoming one of the studios most popular teenaged stars. She made the transition to adult roles in the early 1950s, despite being one of MGMs most bankable stars, Taylor wished to end her career in the early 1950s, as she resented the studios control and disliked many of the films to which she was assigned. She began receiving roles in the mid-1950s, beginning with the epic drama Giant. These included two film adaptations of plays by Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly, Last Summer, although she disliked her role in BUtterfield 8, her last film for MGM, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. She was next paid a record-breaking $1 million to play the role in the historical epic Cleopatra. During the filming, Taylor and co-star Richard Burton began having an affair which caused a scandal. Despite public disapproval, Burton and she continued their relationship and were married the first time in 1964. Dubbed Liz and Dick by the media, they starred in 11 films together, including The V. I. P. s, The Sandpiper, The Taming of the Shrew, and Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Taylor received the best reviews of her career for Woolf, winning her second Academy Award, in the 1980s, she acted in her first substantial stage roles and in several television films and series, and became the first celebrity to launch a perfume brand. Taylor was also one of the first celebrities to take part in HIV/AIDS activism and she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985 and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1991. From the early 1990s until her death, she dedicated her time to philanthropy and she received several accolades for it, including the Presidential Citizens Medal. Taylors personal life was subject to constant media attention throughout her life and she was married eight times to seven men, endured serious illnesses, and led a jet set lifestyle, including amassing one of the most expensive private collections of jewelry. After many years of ill health, Taylor died from heart failure at the age of 79 in 2011
26.
Markus Rogan
–
He also was the world record holder in 200 metres backstroke in that year. Rogans first big success was a second-place finish in the 200 m backstroke at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka. In the Olympics in 2004, Rogan placed second in both mens 100 m backstroke and the mens 200 m backstroke, both times behind Aaron Peirsol of the United States, the 200 metre race was controversial as Peirsol was first disqualified but later reinstated as gold medalist. As a teenager, the 6 ft 5 in tall Rogan swam for Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County, Virginia and he earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University from 2000–2004. On 8 December 2005, in Trieste, Markus set a new record in the 200 m backstroke for short course swim pools. This world record was broken by American swimmer Ryan Lochte. Back on the course in Manchester 2008, Rogan broke the world record again on 13 April 2008, setting the new record with 1,47.84. Both swimmers were wearing the new Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, Markus won both the 100 and 200 metre backstroke events at those European Championships. In the meantime Rogan changed his plans on retirement and he swam at the World Championships 2009 in Rome. As he was training in Italy, the event was virtually on homeground, at the 2010 European championships he grabbed silver in the 200 m IM behind Olympic Silver medalist László Cseh. Markus competed in his last Olympic games in London in 2012 and he is now studying to be a psychologist. Markus is married to Leanne Cobb, an executive who was born in South Africa. They live together in Los Angeles, California, World record progression 200 metres backstroke Markus Rogan. Markus Rogan official website Markus Rogan at Swimrankings. net
27.
Nazan Eckes
–
Nazan Eckes is a German television personality of Turkish ancestry. Her internship at the television channel VIVA was followed by a formal journalistic apprenticeship lasting 18 months at the same channel. In 1998, Üngör joined VIVA as a regular TV journalist, between 1998-1999, she also worked as freelance reporter for the Turkish language regional newspaper Haftalık Posta. In 1999 Nazan Üngör moved to Hamburg and presented the weather forecast for RTL Televisions regional evening program Guten Abend RTL, the next year she presented the weather forecast in the local news program Punkt 12. She married Claus Eckes in 2000, since 28 January 2003, Nazan has regularly presented the RTL II News on weekdays. That year she presented RTL Exclusiv and Life, - Die Lust zu leben as a stand-in for the regular presenters while they were on vacation. She also presented the World Music Awards with Ole Tillmann and Deutschlands beste Doppelgänger, Nazan Eckes was briefly part of the presenting team for RTLs coverage of Formula One, presenting pieces on the city and/or country hosting the event. This was spun off into a programme entitled Formel Exclusiv in which she presented lifestyle. From June 2004 on, she hosted Life, - Die Lust zu leben and also assumed presentation of Bosporus Trend and RTL II Jahresrückblick, an end-of-year review of 2004 and 2005. In 2006 she hosted Lets Dance with Hape Kerkeling, the German version of television series Dancing with the Stars, in October 2006 she presented Das große TV-Quiz, a quiz program. She also played a journalist in the German television comedy Crazy Race 3 – Sie knacken jedes Schloss, in 2007, Nazan Eckes hosted the second season of Let’s Dance Again with Hape Kerkeling and also the episode Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - The great RTL-Special. Nazan was married to Claus Eckes, from February 2000 until their divorce in 2007, in June 2012 she married painter and former model Julian Khol, the youngest son of Austrian Peoples Party politician Andreas Khol. Nazan Eckes at the Internet Movie Database Personal website
28.
Andreas Khol
–
Andreas Khol is an Austrian politician of the centre-conservative Austrian Peoples Party, President of the National Council from 2002 to 2006. Andreas Khol was raised in the town of Sterzing in South Tyrol and his family subsequently relocated to Innsbruck, Austria, where Khol attended school and served as a Boy Scout. Trained as a lawyer, Andreas Khol achieved a habilitation in constitutional law as a student of Felix Ermacora, one of the most senior politicians of his party, he held the position of the first president of the National Council of Austria between 2002 and 2006. Along with former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, he held power within the Austrian Peoples Party. Andreas Khol assumed the post of head of the Senior Citizens Organisation in the Austrian Peoples Party and he resigned from the post after he accepted the nomination to stand as candidate for the post of Federal President in 2016. He immediately challenged the governments open door policy on accepting refugees, despite this he came one but last in the presidential race gaining just over 11 percent of the vote trailing behind the Social Democratic candidate. Internal squabbles in the ÖVP and a lack of engagement by the party machine were cited as reasons as well as a swell in support for the far right candidate Norbert Hofer who topped the poll. Visibly shaken on election night, Khol announced he would no longer play an role in politics. Khol is proficient in English and French and is editor of a political science book called the Austrian Politics Yearbook. Raeto-Bavaria Innsbruck, a Catholic fraternity that belongs to the Cartellverband and he represents the Catholic-conservative wing of his party. His youngest son Julian is a known male model and married with German TV host Nazan Eckes. Andreas Khol has six children, three boys and three girls and 15 grandchildren
29.
International AIDS Society
–
The International AIDS Society is an association of HIV professionals, with 16,000 members from 196 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. IAS members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners. The IAS is the custodian of the biennial International AIDS Conference, the current IAS President is Chris Beyrer. Past presidents have included Helene D. Gayle, Joep Lange, Peter Piot, the IASs headquarters are located in Geneva. The IAS is an organization founded in 1988, with a mandate to organize the International AIDS Conference. Initially the IAS headquarters were based in Stockholm and Lars-Olof Kallings was the Secretary General from 1988 until 2003, in 2004, the IAS restructured its organization, expanded the number of professional staff and moved the headquarters to Geneva. The move was intended to strengthen links with other health NGOs. The International AIDS Conference is the worlds most attended conference on HIV and these conferences started in 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. They were held annually until 1994 when they became biennial, the most recent conference was in Durban, South Africa, in July 2016. The conferences also allow an opportunity to intensify political and financial commitments to AIDS, Joep Lange, a former president of the International AIDS Society was killed en route to the 20th Conference in Melbourne while on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down over Ukraine. Below is the list of International Aids Conferences and their venue, The IAS also organizes the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and this conference occurs biennially and focuses on the biomedical aspects of HIV. It aims to bring together participants from around the world by providing an environment for researchers and clinicians to address current issues in HIV research, prevention and treatment. The conference was held in Buenos Aires in 2001, Paris in 2003, Rio de Janeiro in 2005, Sydney in 2007, Cape Town in 2009, Rome in 2011, Kuala Lumpur in 2013, and Vancouver in 2015. The IAS works with other regional HIV/AIDS societies and networks to strengthen the capacity of HIV professionals to respond to the epidemic at the regional level, the society runs the Industry Liaison Forum, whose mission is to remove barriers to research investment by the pharmaceutical industry in resource-limited settings. The IAS also provides development and training opportunities for HIV professionals at both international and regional AIDS conferences through its education programme. Official website AIDS2016 conference in Durban, South Africa
30.
Burgtheater
–
The Burgtheater, originally known as K. K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K. K, hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world. The theatre opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who wanted a theatre next to her palace and her son, Emperor Joseph II, called it the German National Theatre in 1776. Three Mozart operas premiered there, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro, beginning in 1794, the theatre was called the K. K. Beethovens 1st Symphony premiered there on 2 April 1800, the last performance, in October 1888, was of Goethe’s Iphigenie auf Tauris The theatres first building adjoined the Hofburg at Michaelerplatz, opposite St. Michaels Church. The theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße on 14 October 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer. On 12 March 1945 the Burgtheater was largely destroyed in a bombing raid, after the war, the theatre was restored between 1953 and 1955. The classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater-German language were trend-setting for German language theatres, before 1776 the theatre had been leased from the state by Johann Koháry. The curator Joseph Keglevich declared the bankruptcy of the theatre in 1776, the benchmark for the directors became the finances of the house. Finally, Ferdinánd Pálffy became the tenant 1794-1817, his finances had come from the institute in Banská Štiavnica the first technical university in the world. The Burgtheater remained a traditional stage with a distinct culture until the late 1960s. From the early 1970s on, it became a venue for some of Europes most important stage director, W. Fischer, Paul Hörbiger, Otto Tausig, Peter Weck, Fritz Muliar, and Christoph Waltz. Particularly deserving artists may be designated honorable members and their names are engraved in marble at the bottom end of the ceremonial stairs at the side of the theatre facing the Volksgarten. Members of honor include, Annemarie Düringer, Wolfgang Gasser, Heinrich Schweiger, Gusti Wolf, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Michael Heltau. Among the staged and costume designers were Fritz Wotruba, Luciano Damiani, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Ezio Frigerio, Franca Squarciapino, Josef Svoboda, Anselm Kiefer, Moidele Bickel, and Milena Canonero. Notable performances, The world premiere of Des Feux dans la Nuit in 1999 at the Burgtheater, was the first solo created for a man by internationally acclaimed choreographer Marie Chouinard, raimund Theater Theater in der Josefstadt Volkstheater Wien Akademietheater Burgtheater homepage Burgtheater information and photography
31.
Austrian Parliament
–
The Austrian Parliament is the bicameral legislature in Austria. It consists of two chambers, the National Council and the Federal Council, in specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets in the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, the National Council is composed of 183 members elected through proportional representation in a general election. The legislative period lasts five years, elections are held if the National Council prematurely moves for its own dissolution. The National Council is the dominant house in the Austrian Parliament, the Federal Council is elected indirectly, through the provincial assemblies of the nine States of the Federal Republic, and reflects the distribution of seats in the Austrian Landtage. The states are represented in the Federal Council roughly in accordance to the size of their populations, seats are redistributed among the states following each general census, and the overall size of the chamber varies slightly as a result. The current Federal Council is composed of 61 delegates, with regard to most issues, the Federal Council only possesses a dilatory right of veto which can be overridden by the National Council. However, the Federal Council enjoys absolute veto powers over bills intended to alter the powers of either the states, the Federal Assembly is a body whose function is mostly ceremonial in nature, and consists of the members of both houses of Parliament. The Federal Assembly convenes only rarely, for instance to witness the inauguration of the Federal President and it might be noted, however, that under exceptional circumstances the Austrian constitution endows the Federal Assembly with significant responsibilities. An example of this would be its pivotal role in the impeachment of a Federal President. Both houses of Parliament, as well as the Federal Assembly, constitution of Austria Austrian Parliament Building Imperial Council Imperial Diet The Austrian Parliament - Official Homepage
32.
Clinton Foundation
–
The Clinton Foundation, and from 2013 to 2015, briefly renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit corporation under section 501 of the U. S. tax code. Its offices are located in New York City and Little Rock, through 2016 the foundation had raised an estimated $2 billion from U. S. corporations, foreign governments and corporations, political donors, and various other groups and individuals. The acceptance of funds from wealthy donors has been a source of controversy, the foundation has won accolades from philanthropy experts and has drawn bipartisan support. Charitable grants are not a focus of the Clinton Foundation. This foundation is an organization to which anyone may donate and is distinct from the Clinton Family Foundation. According to the Foundations website, neither Bill Clinton nor his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, when Hillary Clinton was a board member she, too, received no income from the Foundation. The origins of the foundation go back to 1997, when then-president Bill Clinton was focused mostly on fundraising for the future Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Bill founded the William J. Clinton Foundation in 2001 following the completion of his presidency. Longtime Clinton advisor Bruce Lindsey became the CEO in 2004, later, Lindsey moved from being CEO to being chair, largely for health reasons. Other Clinton hands who played an important early role included Doug Band, additional Clinton associates who have had senior positions at the foundation include John Podesta and Laura Graham. Most of the successes came from Bills worldwide fame and his ability to bring together corporate executives, celebrities. Similarly, the areas of involvement have often corresponded to whatever Bill suddenly felt an interest in. Preceding Barack Obamas 2009 nomination of Hillary Clinton as U. S. Accordingly, by 2011, Chelsea Clinton was taking a dominant role in the foundation and had a seat on its board. To raise money for the Foundation, she gave paid speeches, in 2013, Hillary Clinton joined the foundation following her tenure as Secretary of State. She planned to focus her work on issues regarding women and children, Accordingly, at that point, it was renamed the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. Extra attention was paid to the due to the 2016 United States presidential election. In July 2013, Eric Braverman was named CEO of the foundation and he is a friend and former colleague of Chelsea Clinton from McKinsey & Company. At the same time, Chelsea Clinton was named chair of the foundations board. The foundation was also in the midst of a move to two floors of the Time-Life Building in Midtown Manhattan, Chelsea Clinton moved the organization to an outside review, conducted by the firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
33.
Barbara Eden
–
Barbara Eden is an American film, stage, and television actress, and singer, best known for her starring role of Jeannie in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. For decades, Edens year of birth was thought to be 1934, after her parents divorce, she and her mother moved to San Francisco, where her mother married Harrison Connor Huffman, a telephone lineman, by whom she had a daughter, Edens half-sister. The Great Depression deeply impacted the family, and as they were unable to afford many luxuries, Edens first public performance was singing in the church choir, where she sang the solos. As a teenager, she sang in bands for $10 a night in night clubs. At age 16, she became a member of Actors Equity and she studied singing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and acting with the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theatre. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in the Spring Class of 1949 and she was then elected Miss San Francisco, as Barbara Huffman, in 1951. Eden also entered the Miss California pageant, but did not win, Next she was a semi-regular on The Johnny Carson Show, a prime time series in 1956. She guest-starred in four episodes of Burkes Law, playing different roles each time and she was an uncredited extra in the movie The Tarnished Angels with Rock Hudson, in partnership with 20th Century Fox studios. She then starred in the syndicated comedy TV series How to Marry a Millionaire, the series is based on the 1953 film of the same name. Discovery in the Hollywood sense came when she starred in a play with James Drury, film director Mark Robson, who later directed her in the movie From the Terrace, had come to the play and wanted her for 20th Century Fox studios. Her screen test was the Joanne Woodward role in No Down Payment, though she did not get the role, the studio gave her a contract. She did a screen test for the role of Betty Anderson in the 1957 film version of Peyton Place and she had minor roles in Bailout at 43,000, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. And The Wayward Girl, and then became a lady in films and starred opposite Gary Crosby, Barry Coe. She had a role in Flaming Star, with Elvis Presley. The following year, she played in a role as Lt. Cathy Connors in Irwin Allens Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She starred in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, a George Pal-directed Cinerama film for MGM and she was the female lead in the 1962 Fox comedy Swingin Along, starring Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall, in their final joint screen appearance. She did a screen test with Andy Williams for the 20th Century Fox movie State Fair and her last film for 20th Century Fox was The Yellow Canary. She left Fox and began guest-starring in television shows and acting in films for MGM, Universal and she played supporting roles over the next few years, including The Brass Bottle and 7 Faces of Dr. Lao
34.
I Dream of Jeannie
–
Produced by Screen Gems, the show originally aired from September 18,1965 to May 26,1970 with new episodes, and through September 1970 with season repeats, on NBC. The show ran for five seasons and produced 139 episodes, on the beach, Tony notices a strange bottle that rolls by itself. When he rubs it after removing the stopper, smoke starts shooting out and they cannot understand each other until Tony expresses his wish that Jeannie could speak English, which she then does. One of the first things Jeannie does, in a subsequent episode, is break up Tonys engagement to his commanding generals daughter, who, along with that particular general, is never seen again. Tony at first keeps Jeannie in her bottle most of the time, Air Force Colonel Dr. Alfred Bellows. In a running gag, Dr. Bellows tries over and over to prove to his superiors that Tony is either crazy or hiding something, a frequently used plot device is that Jeannie loses her powers when she is confined in a closed space. She is unable to leave her bottle when it is corked, and under certain circumstances, a multiple-episode story arc involves Jeannie becoming trapped in a safe when it is accidentally locked. Both Tony and Roger are promoted to the rank of major late in the first season, in later seasons, Rogers role is retconned to portray him knowing about Jeannie from the beginning. Her final attempt in the series comes right after Tony and Jeannie get married, with a ploy involving a man played by Barbara Edens real-life husband at the time, Michael Ansara. The evil sister, whose name is never revealed, wears a green costume, early in the fifth season, Jeannie is called upon by her Uncle Sully to become queen of their familys native country, Basenji. Tony inadvertently gives grave offense to Basenji national pride in their feud with neighboring Kasja, to regain favor, Tony is required by Sully to marry Jeannie and avenge Basenjis honor, by killing the ambassador from Kasja when he visits NASA. Hearing this, Jeannie bitterly leaves Tony and returns to Basenji, with Jeannie gone, Tony realizes how deeply he loves her. That outweighs all concerns he has had about Jeannies threat to his career and he flies to Basenji to win Jeannie back. Upon their return to NASA, Tony introduces Jeannie as his fiancée, in which she attires herself as a modern American woman in public and this changed the shows premise in that instead of the avoidance of Jeannies exposure, it was to hide her magical abilities. This is contrary to the created by Sidney Sheldons own season-two script for The Birds and Bees Bit, in which it was claimed that, upon marriage. Both I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched were Screen Gems productions, the show debuted at 8 pm, Saturday, September 18,1965, on NBC. When casting was opened for the role of Jeannie, producer Sidney Sheldon could not find an actress who could play the role the way that he had written it. He did have one rule, He did not want a blonde genie
35.
New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
36.
Diners Club International
–
Diners Club International, founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider, Matty Simmons, and Alfred Bloomingdale. It was the first independent credit card company in the world, Diners Club International and its franchises service affluent and well-travelled individuals from around the globe, with operations in 59 countries. The idea for Diners Club was conceived at the Majors Cabin Grill restaurant in New York City in 1949, Diners Club cofounder Frank McNamara was dining with clients and realized he had left his wallet in another suit. His wife paid the tab, and McNamara thought of a charge card as a way to avoid similar embarrassments in the future. He discussed the idea with the restaurant owner at the table, McNamara returned to the same restaurant the following February and paid for his meal using a cardboard charge card and a signature. The story became well-known and is credited by historians as the beginnings of contemporary credit, some journalists later credited Alfred Bloomingdale with the idea for Diners Club. McNamara and his attorney, Ralph Schneider, founded Diners Club International on February 8,1950, Alfred Bloomingdale joined briefly, then started a competing venture in California before merging his California-based Dine and Sign with Diners Club. Diners Club International was named for being a club of diners that would allow patrons to settle their bill at the end of each month through their credit account. When the card was first introduced, Diners Club listed 27 participating restaurants, Diners Club had 20,000 members by the end of 1950 and 42,000 by the end of 1951. At the time, the company was charging participating establishments seven percent, in 1952, McNamara sold his interest in Diners Club to his partners for $200,000. The first plastic Diners Club card was introduced in 1961, by the mid-1960s, Diners Club International was acquired by Citigroup in 1981 and by Discover Financial Services in April 2008. Diners Clubs monopoly was short-lived, as American Express and Carte Blanche began to compete with Diners Club in the travel, American Express now dominates the member card arena, providing millions of customers with cards that require the monthly balance to be paid in full. Towards the end of the 1960s, Diners Club also faced competition from banks that issued revolving credit cards through BankAmericard, and Interbank Master Charge. Starting in 1968, Amoco also issued for a time its own co-branded Diners Club cards called American Torch Club, and Sun Oil Company issued its version called Sun Diner Club Card starting in 1977. In 1981, Citibank, a unit of Citigroup, acquired Diners Club International, the franchisor that holds rights to the Diners Club trademark, a majority of the franchises abroad remain independently owned. In a transaction completed July 1,2008, Discover Financial Services purchased Diners Club International from Citibank for $165 million, the deal was announced in April 2008 and approved by the U. S. government in May 2008. By merging the North American Discover Network with the international Diners Club Network, Discover Bank has no plans to issue Diners Club-branded cards, which continue to be issued by Diners Club International licensees. In 2011, Discover began putting its logo on Diners Club cards, some payment processors, like PayPal, can process only new Diners Club cards, bearing the Discover logo
37.
Nadja Auermann
–
Nadja Auermann is a German model and actress. Fashion designer Valentino once commented on her resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. A New York Times fashion columnist, Guy Trebay, wrote of her ice maiden visage and she once held the record for being the model with the longest legs in the world in the Guinness Book of Records. In 1989, Auermann was discovered in a cafe in Berlin, in 1991, she moved from Karin to Elite Model Management. She then had her picture taken for Vogue Paris, in addition to appearing in Benetton clothing advertisements. In September 1994, Auermann appeared on the cover of both Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, which The New York Times called a triumph akin to winning two legs of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and she was also the international spokesperson of Shiseido in the late 1990s. Throughout her career, Auermann has worked with numerous well-renowned photographers, in 1997, she had her first child with Olaf Björn, a daughter called Cosima. Two years later, she married German actor Wolfram Grandezka, the couple welcomed their first son, Nicolas, the same year and divorced a few years later. Auermann gave birth to her third and fourth children with her partner in 2010 and 2013 respectively, in recent years, Auermann launched her own perfume and has begun acting, having been in two German-language films, Letztes Kapitel and Dornröschens Leiser Tod. Auermann enjoys holidaying in the spa town of Heiligendamm, on Germanys Baltic coast and she was convicted of tax evasion by a German court in 2011. In an interview with the German Press, Auermann revealed that she was living with her children, list of people from Berlin Nadja Auermann at the Fashion Model Directory Nadja Auermann at the Internet Movie Database
_04.jpg)
_Bill_Clinton,_Fran_Drescher_and_Elke_Winkens.jpg)
