全通翻譯/翻譯社

Marvelous Marvel

Think superheroes, and you're almost certainly thinking of Marvel. While other comic book publishers might have given Marvel a run for its money over the years, few have created as many characters with such mass appeal.

The company dates back to 1939 when it was founded under the name of Timely Publications. It wasn't until 1961 that the name Marvel first began to be used, and that same year, the publisher introduced its first superhero team, the Fantastic Four. The following year saw the first comic to feature perhaps the most iconic of Marvel’s crime-fighters, Spider-Man. This character immediately resonated with young people as it was the first teenager in a leading role. Previous to this, youngsters had always been relegated to sidekick status. 

From Salt of the Earth to Shopping Extravaganza: Iquique Reinvents Itself

Founded in the late 16th century, Iquique remained something of an outpost on the fringe of the world's driest region — the Atacama Desert. Visiting the region in 1835, when it was part of Peru, Charles Darwin noted that the town, as it was then, was “very much in want of everyday necessities” due to its remoteness.

Darwin also stopped by the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, 48 kilometers east of the city. It was on these vital sodium nitrate deposits that Iquique was nurtured into a genuine city as immigrants flocked in to take advantage of the burgeoning trade in the valuable mineral. However, these formative years were marked by a series of tragedies and disasters. Two deadly earthquakes in 1868 and 1877 were followed by the Battle of Iquique. This naval engagement in the city's harbor on May 21, 1879 ended with the city being ceded to Chile, and the date is now celebrated as a national holiday.

Iron Man, Eat Your Heart Out

The media have dubbed him the real life Tony Stark, and indeed, like the man behind the iron mask, Elon Musk seems almost invincible. The South African-born innovator made a cameo appearance in “Iron Man 2,” where he advised Robert Downey, Jr.'s character that he had “an idea for an electric jet.” Uttered by anyone else, such a comment would be straying into the realm of comic-book hyperbole, but with Musk, it appears the sky is no limit. In fact, he is already toying with the idea of electric air travel, though he admits it might not be feasible.

A self-taught coding whiz, Musk had already developed and sold a video game by the age of 12. After dropping out of a Ph.D program at Harvard after two days, Musk founded Zip2 with his brother. The company produced online publishing software for news organizations and was sold to AltaVista for US$307 million cash and US$34 million in stock in 1999. 

The State of Real Estate

A common complaint of foreigners living in Taiwan is the characterless, monolithic nature of much of the architecture. However, there is a lot more variety than first meets the eye. Japanese takes on Victorian architecture, which fuse neo-Renaissance elements with Greek colonnades, sit quietly in the shadows of glistening skyscrapers. Nearby, red-brick Sanheyuan courtyard buildings bespeak the Fujianese origins of much of Taiwan's population. Communities of ramshackle tenements are a testament to the cheap, makeshift solutions that were required to house the influx of soldiers and their families from China in the late 1940s onward.

Many of the older structures –– the single-story sanheyuan and the veteran's villages –– are becoming increasingly rare as they give way to modern housing. Although invariably less attractive, these modern dwellings address spatial and seismic considerations. From the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, four-story duplexes using reinforced concrete became the norm. Construction of toutian-type housing began in the late ‘70s. These types of row houses are generally three stories with overhanging balconies and an arcade below. Designed with Taiwan's climate in mind, they afford pedestrians protection from the elements. However, many of these were found wanting during the 921 earthquake and improved steel-reinforcement was introduced in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Exit Strategy?

WHEN Deng Xiaoping began opening China up to free-market economics and foreign trade in the 1980s, foreign companies were quick to take advantage of the opportunities that the PRC offered. The establishment of Special Economic Zones, beginning with Shenzhen in 1980, was the first of several incentives to demonstrate that China was now open for business. It all boded well for the future.

In many ways, much of that promise has been realized. From 2000-2010, around 20 percent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) was in China, accounting for roughly 2.5 percent of the country's GDP from 2005-2010. During the same period, foreign-invested enterprises were responsible for more than half of PRC imports and exports. As of 2010, they provided a third of China's industrial output and over a fifth of its industrial profits while employing just 10 percent of its workforce –– a demonstration of their high productivity.

Monte Carlo or Bust

Few cities can rival Monte Carlo when it comes to glitz and glamour. With its casinos, grand hotels and luxury yachts, Monte Carlo is the epitome of opulence and, some might say, excess. Monaco's main district has long been considered a playground for the rich and famous. Monte Carlo is home to more millionaires and billionaires per capita than anywhere else. It also has the world's priciest real estate, with four-room apartments overlooking Port Hercules going for over 60 million euros.

Monte Carlo was named after Prince Charles (Carlo) III of Monaco, a scion of the Grimaldi family whose preeminence in the area dates from the late 12th century. The Grimaldis were wealthy Genoese who spoke a dialect similar to Monegasque, which is still used by about 15 percent of Monaco's citizens. 

A Brief History of Taiwanese Clothing

Unsurprisingly for a nation that has been influenced by a variety of cultures, Taiwan has seen a range of clothing styles during different periods of its history.

To the untrained eye, the traditional costumes of the island's aborigines may seem of a piece and, in a way, they are. The weaving process was almost identical throughout the tribes. A squared-cloth system of weaving, involving a horizontal loom with a strap, was used to produce individual pieces, which were then sewn together to create beautiful patchworks. However, colors, patterns and decorations (including shells and beads) varied considerably from tribe to tribe. The Atayal, for example, whose women are expert weavers, favored red as it was said to be in tune with nature and ward off evil. The Paiwan, whose clothing is perhaps the most eye-catching, preferred dark blues and black with intricate patterns and ostentatious adornments.