Forgotten Realms: The Empire of Manchukuo

Manchukuo was a short-lived Japanese-sponsored state established in the 1930's. Created from China's heavily industrialized northeastern region of Manchuria, Manchukuo was under the nominal rule of Emperor Henry Pu Yi, whose reign as the last Qing Dynasty Emperor of China had been brought to an end with the Revolution of 1911.

However, Pu Yi's reign as Emperor of Manchukuo was mostly for show, and the real power rested with the Japanese political and military officials who oversaw the occupation and colonization of Manchuria by Japanese colonists.

Following Germany's defeat in 1945, the Soviet Union joined the Pacific War and declared war on the Empire of Japan. Soviet forces rolled into Manchuria and took Pu Yi prisoner. With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese were forced into an unconditional surrender, and Manchuria was restored to Chinese sovereignty.

The 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci film The Last Emperor, depicting the life of Pu Yi including his time as Emperor of Manchukuo, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

滿洲國 Mǎnzhōuguó / Manshū-koku Manchu State (1932–1934) 大滿洲帝國 Dà Mǎnzhōu Dìguó / Dai Manshū Teikoku Great Manchu Empire (1934–1945)
Puppet state of Japan
← 1932–1945 →
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem National Anthem of Manchukuo
Location of Manchukuo
Capital	Hsinking
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Chief Executive / Emperor
- 1932 - 1934 (Datong)	Aisingioro Puyi (Chief Executive)
- 1934 - 1945 (Kangde)	Aisingioro Puyi (Emperor)
Prime Minister
- 1932 - 1935	Zheng Xiaoxu
- 1935 - 1945	Zhang Jinghui
Historical era	World War II
- Established	1932
- Disestablished	1945
Currency	Manchukuo yuan

Diva du Jour: Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress in film, television and theatre. Starting as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway, Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford began a campaign of self-publicity and became nationally known as a flapper by the end of the 1920s. In the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well-received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money and by the end of the 1930s she was labeled "box office poison".

After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company, through her marriage to company president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting in film and television regularly through the 1960s, when her performances became fewer; after the release of the British horror film Trog in 1970, Crawford retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life and became more and more reclusive until her death in 1977.

Crawford married four times. Her first three marriages ended in divorce; the last ended with the death of husband Al Steele. She adopted five children, one of whom was reclaimed by his birth mother. Crawford's relationships with her two older children, Christina and Christopher, were acrimonious. Crawford disinherited the two and, after Crawford's death, Christina wrote a "tell-all" memoir, Mommie Dearest, in which she alleged a lifelong pattern of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by Crawford.

Great Tune of the Day: La Folia, The Oldest Remembered European Melody

La Folía (also spelled "Follia") is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes on record. It originated in the Iberian Peninsula.

Over the course of three centuries, more than 150 composers have used it in their works. The first publications of this theme date from the middle of the 17th century, but it is probably much older. Plays of the renaissance theatre in Portugal, including works by Gil Vicente, mention the folia as a dance performed by shepherds or peasants. The Portuguese origin is recorded in the 1577 treatise De musica libri septem by Francisco de Salinas.

Examples of early folias include works by Juan del Encina in 1520, Diego Ortiz in 1553, and Antonio de Cabezón in 1557.

Jean-Baptiste Lully, in collaboration with Philidor in 1672, Arcangelo Corelli in 1700, Alessandro Scarlatti in 1710, Antonio Vivaldi in his Opus 1 No 12 of 1705 and Johann Sebastian Bach in his Peasants' Cantata of 1742 are considered to highlight this 'later' folia repeating theme in a brilliant way.

In the 19th century the theme's popularity decreased, but it regained composers' interest during the 1930s with Sergei Rachmaninov in his Variations on a theme by Corelli in 1931 and Manuel María Ponce and his Variations on "Spanish Folia" and Fugue for guitar.

The folia melody has also influenced Scandinavian folk music. It is said that around half of the old Swedish tunes are based on la folia. It is possible to recognize a common structure in many Swedish folk tunes, and it is similar to the folia structure. Old folk tunes (19th century or older) which do not have this structure often come from parts of Sweden with little influences from upper classes or other countries.

Source: Wikipedia