ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Investiture means the formal installation of somebody (heir, elect of nominee) in public office by formally giving him the "insignia". The term is normally reserved for formal offices of state, aristocracy and church. In the Middle Ages investiture was the ceremonial transfer of a fief by an overlord to a vassal. The lord "invested" the vassal with a fiefdom, by giving a symbol of the land or office. From feudal times up to the present, the term has been used in canon law to refer to a cleric receiving the symbols of spiritual office, such as the pastoral ring, mitre and staff, signifying transfer of the office. United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, around 2,600 people are invested personally by The Queen or a member of the Royal Family. A list of those to be honoured is published twice a year, in either the New Year's Honours List or The Queen's Birthday Honours List. Approximately 22 Investitures are held annually in Buckingham Palace, one or two at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and one in Cardiff. Investiture Controversy. The question who should invest (appoint) whom was the subject of a conflict between the Catholic church (mainly the papacy) and state (mainly the Holy Roman Empire) in the Middle Ages during the so-called lay investiture controversy.
"For the electronics brand-name of the same name, see "Best Buy" Insignia (the plural of Latin "insigne": emblem, symbol) is a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction. Insignia are especially used as an emblem of a specific or general authority. Typical examples of insignia are: Official insignia are often protected by law as to allow their use only by people holding a specific office or staff members action on behalf of such a person. Misuse, defacement and destruction of such symbols is considered an offense in many countries.
The Irish War of Independence was fought by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) against the British soldiers (known as the Black and Tans because of the colour of their uniform) who were trying to keep Ireland under British control. The war was fought between 1919 and June 1921. The fighting stopped while a peace treaty was worked out.  It began because of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) men fought the British soldiers because they wanted Ireland to be its own country and wanted Britain to move its army out of Ireland. 6 IRB members were killed including 3 who were executed. These executions angered the Irish people and caused many people to become "Republicans". Republicans lived mostly in the south of Ireland. Ulster was considered to be the most unionist part of Ireland. This was caused by the Ulster Plantations. The Unionists wanted to stay under control of the British Government. In 1917 the IRB was renamed the IRA and in 1919, the fighting started. By the end of 1919, the IRA had beaten the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Ireland had no police forces. In London, the British government began to debate about Ireland's rule. The war waged on until 1921 when Irish Sinn Féin leaders and British MPs made a peace treaty (called the Anglo-Irish Treaty). This treaty created the Irish Free State this meant that Ireland was given Dominion Status. The treaty gave all the same rights to the Irish government as that of the Canadian or Australian government. It handed power of 26 of the 32 counties to the Irish Government. The 6 counties that were kept by the British Government were all in Ulster and formed Northern Ireland.
A bishop () is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player starts the game with two bishops. At the start of a game, one bishop is placed in between the knight and the queen. This piece is the "queen's bishop". The other bishop is placed between the knight and the king. This piece is the "king's bishop". The bishops are also referred to as the light-square bishop and dark-square bishop, depending on the square color it starts on. In chess notation, the starting squares are c1 and f1 for White's bishops, and c8 and f8 for Black's bishops. History. The bishop first appeared in medieval European chess. In Chaturanga, the bishop was represented as an armed attendant who sat on the back of an elephant. The Arabs called this figure "al-fil", which means "elephant". However, elephants were not known in Central Europe, so they could not recognize the figure. The bishops were interpreted differently by the different nations. That is why the bishop is a "Läufer" (runner) in Germany, a "fou" (fool) in France and a "alfiere" (standard-bearer) in Italy. How the bishop moves. The bishop moves diagonally. It can move as far as a player wants it to, unless another piece blocks its path. A bishop can never leave the color of square that it starts on. In the centre of an empty board, a bishop can move to 13 squares.
A South Atlantic tropical cyclone is an unusual form of weather event. Usually, strong wind shear is the biggest problem why tropical cyclones do not normally form in the southern Atlantic Ocean. If there was ever a "hurricane season" in the south Atlantic, it would most likely happen during the opposite of the north Atlantic season, from December to May with mid-March being the peak when the oceans are warmest in the Southern Hemisphere. Cyclone Catarina. Cyclone (or Hurricane) Catarina was an extraordinarily rare tropical cyclone, forming in the southern Atlantic Ocean in March 2004. Just after becoming a hurricane, it hit the southern coast of Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina on the evening of March 28, with winds estimated near 180 km/h (112 mph), making it a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The cyclone killed 3-10 people and caused millions of dollars in damage in Brazil. This event is thought to be a nearly once-in-a-lifetime event by meteorologists. Other known South Atlantic tropical cyclones. Angola tropical cyclone of 1991. On April 10, 1991, what was either a strong tropical depression or a weak tropical storm formed in the eastern South Atlantic, recorded by weather satellites off the coast of Angola. It reached a peak on the 13th, and dissipated two days later, drifting west-southwestward from where it formed. Of the few South Atlantic tropical cyclones that have existed, this was the only one in the eastern Atlantic. This was also the first South Atlantic tropical cyclone ever observed. Tropical cyclone of January 2004. A small area of convection developed on a trough of low pressure in mid-January off Brazil. It organized and appeared to become a tropical depression on January 18. The next morning, it had a small amounts of convection near the center and well-defined bands, and the system, either a weak tropical storm or a strong tropical depression, likely reached its peak. Located 150 n miles southeast of Salvador, Brazil, it weakened as upper level shear, normal for the basin, prevailed. The
Opera buffa is an Italian term meaning “comic opera”. It is mainly used for 18th century Italian comic operas. Opera buffa contrasts with opera seria (“serious opera”) in which the story was a tragedy. Opera seria was supposed to be “serious”, while opera buffa was an entertaining musical comedy. Like the opera seria, everything was sung, there was no spoken dialogue. This was different from comic opera in other countries. The story in opera buffa is told in recitative and then there were arias for the characters to show their feelings and show off their voices.  Although we use the term “opera buffa” today, in the 18th century they called such operas by other names, e.g. “commedia in musica”, “dramma giocosa”, “operetta”, “burlesca” etc. An opera buffa was usually a full length work: one which would fill a whole evening’s entertainment. It was different from an “intermezzo” or “farsa” which was a short musical comedy that was performed during the intervals of a musical tragedy, although the difference between the two is not always obvious. The intermezzo became longer and longer during the 18th century and gradually developed into opera buffa. Pergolesi’s "La Serva Padrone" was an intermezzo which became very famous after Pergolesi’s death. It influenced opera buffa.  Opera buffa always included a lot of caricature. The characters showed human weaknesses such as , , and (people who were pretending to be wise and important). They often poked fun at the ruling classes. In opera buffa the acting was always very important. It was a very lively show, with a lot happening very quickly. At the end of each act all the main characters sang together: this is called an “ensemble” (the French word for “together”). Opera buffa started in Naples and gradually spread to other parts of Italy. It was particularly popular at carnival time. Important composers of opera buffa include Carlo Goldoni and Baldassare Galuppi. By the end of the 18th century it was not
Opera seria is an Italian term which refers to the "serious" style of Italian opera in the 18th century. It was different from opera buffa which was a musical comedy. Opera seria was supposed to be about serious tragedy. The term “opera seria” only started to be used after the time when it was popular in order to talk about the historic period. Italian "opera seria" was always in the Italian language, even when it was composed or performed in other countries such as Germany, Austria, England and Spain. In France the opera seria was not so popular. They had their own forms of opera. Popular composers of opera seria included Hasse, Vinci, Jommelli, George Frideric Handel, Piccinni, Paisiello, Cimarosa, Gluck, and Mozart. "Opera seria" was often called "dramma per musica" ("drama through music"). The story was told in recitative, a quick-flowing music with simple accompaniment. Then there were arias which were the big songs where the singers could show off their skills. They were normally in "da capo" form (a main section, a middle section, and the main section repeated). The opera would start with an overture and there would also be some ensembles where several characters sang at once. The stories of opera seria were usually about the ancient Greek and Roman gods or kings. This was in contrast to opera buffa, which was about ordinary people and often made fun of kings and nobility. The main singers in opera seria were mostly castrati, male singers who had been castrated when they were young so that they still sang with high voices. Gradually during the 18th century the female singers got more of the main roles (the “prima donna” or “first lady”). One of the first composers of opera seria was Alessandro Scarlatti. In England George Frideric Handel wrote many great opera seria. The most important man in the development of mid-18th century opera seria was Metastasio who wrote libretti. His words were set by the greatest composers in Europe: Hasse, Porpora and,
Mosbach (South Franconian: "Mossbach") is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. About 25,000 people live there. It is between Heidelberg and Heilbronn. There are other big towns nearby: Sinsheim, Eberbach and Osterburken. In Neckarelz, a suburb of Mosbach, is the most important train station. There are trains running from Mannheim - Heidelberg - Heilbronn, Stuttgart - Heilbronn - Neckarelz and Kaiserslautern - Mannheim - Heidelberg - Mosbach - Osterburken. There are also 2 other stations: Mosbach and Mosbach West. There are only trains from Kaiserslautern to Osterburken. Mosbach has an area of . The postal codes are from "74801" to "74821", the old one was "6950". The telephone numbers start with "+49 6261", The cars have number plates with the letters "MOS".
There are 32 historic counties on the island of Ireland. 26 are in the Republic of Ireland and 6 are in Northern Ireland. The counties "in italics" do not have a county council, instead they are have two or more smaller administrative county councils (called districts, in Northern Ireland) Several large towns are county boroughs. These councils have the same powers and duties of a county council.
Melk Abbey or Stift Melk is a Benedictine abbey. It lies on the Danube, near the city of Melk. It is in Lower Austria. It is one of the distinguishing features of a region known as Wachau. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey was almost totally destroyed in a fire, on 14 August 1297. It was rebuilt in Baroque style at the beginning of the 18th century.
Exhibitionism is a behavior done to attract attention. In everyday life, extroverts may be exhibitionists.  As a histrionic personality disorder, exhibitionism is the pleasure a person feels by showing their breasts, genitals or buttocks to strangers to shock or frighten them. Less severe forms of exhibitionism are streaking, mooning, and flashing.
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter. He was born in New York City. During 40 years Rockwell drew the cover pages of "The Saturday Evening Post". He died of emphysema in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge owns much of his work. He is well known for the set of paintings called the "Four Freedoms" - four pictures of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, called: "Freedom of Speech", "Freedom of Worship", "Freedom from Want" and "Freedom from Fear". Other famous paintings are
The Zuiderzeewerken ("Zuiderzee Works") are a system of dams, land reclamation and water drainage works in the Netherlands during the twentieth century. Plans for the works date back to the 1600s, but it was not until a very bad flood in 1916, that the Dutch parliament finally agreed to pay for the works. Now it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. First some dams or dykes were built to separate the South Sea () from the North Sea. The biggest was the "Afsluitdijk" ('closure dyke'). It is long. When it was finished in 1932, the South Sea was completely cut off and from then on would become a lake called the "IJsselmeer". Land reclamation meant building more dams and pumping out the water inside. The new land is called a polder. Polders make new land for agriculture and make flood protection better, because the lake is smaller. There are gates and sluices at the ends of the Afsluitdijk. The gates, called locks, can be opened to let ships through. The sluices let water out of the IJsselmeer. If there were no sluices the lake would fill up and flood the countryside. This is because it is always being filled with water from rivers and the polders which are still being drained.
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976 ) was a Finnish architect who made many important contributions to architecture. Sometimes called the "Father of Modernism". Life. Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland. He studied architecture at the Technical University of Helsinki from 1916 to 1921. He returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office in 1923. Alvar Aalto died in May 11, 1976, in Helsinki.
Opéra comique is a French opera tradition. Many French operas from the early 18th century to the early 20th century are opéras comiques. In this French tradition there is spoken dialogue as well as songs and dances. It developed from the popular vaudevilles.  In Paris there is a theatre called the Opéra-Comique where these operas were performed. Although “opéra comique” means “comic opera” it is not necessarily comedy. Bizet’s opera "Carmen" is probably the most famous opéra comique, and it is a tragedy. By the late 19th century the opéra-comique usually had no spoken dialogue. There was music all the way through (as there is in "Carmen").
A Vaudeville was a French satirical poem or song in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was used a lot in French theatre where entertainments using such songs were called "comédie en vaudeville". Late in the 19th century, a type of variety show done in American theaters came to be called "vaudeville" which was popular from the early 1880s to the early 1930s. The typical American vaudeville performance was made up of a several different, unrelated performances which were grouped together into a single show. Entertainers typically traveled from town to town as arranged by a "vaudeville circuit". It became less popular after the rise of movies, cinema, and radio, which eventually took over as the main forms of public entertainment. History. The earliest vaudeville was the "vau de vire", a Norman song of the 15th century, named after the valley of Vire. During the 16th century a style grew in the towns in France called the "voix de ville" ( "city voices"), whose name may have been a pun on "vau de vire". These were also satirical. The two styles came together and in the 17th and 18th century. The term 'vaudeville' came to be used for songs satirizing political and court events.  Growth. The comédie en vaudeville grew from the tradition of these simple songs. The Paris audiences in the late 17th and early 18th century enjoyed hearing the familiar vaudeville tunes to new words. These comedies then grew into opéra-comique.
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Paperveroideae. The name is used especially for the bright red flowers which are common in this group. They are symbolic, and used to remember the Armistice Day of World War I, now known as Remembrance Day. Now it is celebrated in the Commonwealth for those who died in all wars. Some types can be grown and used to make the drug opium. Ancient Egyptian doctors had their patients eat seeds from a poppy to relieve pain. Poppy seeds contain small quantities of both morphine and codeine. These are pain-relieving drugs that are still used today. The morphine practically disappears from the seeds twenty days after the flower has opened, so from then on poppy seeds and their oils are not narcotic. There are a number of showy flowers, typically one per stem, in to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers growing singularly or in large groups. Many species are grown in gardens. These include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous border and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens. The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red and blue. Some have dark center markings. The cultivated species include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. Before blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away. The pollen of the oriental poppy, "Papaver orientale", is dark blue. The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy ("Papaver rhoeas") is dark blue to grey. Bees use poppies for their pollen. The opium poppy, "Papaver somniferum", is grown for opium, opiates or seeds to be used in cooking and baking.
A time signature is a set of two numbers, one on top of the other one, written right after the key signature in a piece of music. The two numbers in a time signature tell you how many of one kind of note there are in each measure in the song. For example, formula_1 means that there are four beats in each measure and the quarter note gets one beat. Finding out what certain time signatures mean. The number in the top of the time signature tells a player how many of a certain kind of note there are in each measure. The number in the bottom of the time signature tells what kind of note is used a certain number of times in each measure. The number on the bottom of the time signature can be any power of 2 that is greater than or equal to 2. So, 64 could be a number that is put in the bottom of the time signature, but 65 could not be one. This table shows different numbers that could be the bottom of a time signature, and what they mean. Note that each note down lasts for one-half of the amount the note above it lasted. For example, one quarter note lasts one beat, and one-half note lasts one half of a beat, because one divided by two is one-half.
RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish often updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated website or the full text. RSS allows people to keep up with their favorite websites without manually checking them. This flow of content between websites and users is called "web syndication". RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader," "feed reader", or an "aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or clicking an RSS icon in a browser that begins the subscription process for the online. The reader often checks the user's subscribed feeds for new content, downloading any updates it finds. This content is stored in a standard XML file that many different computers and programs can understand. This file tells the programs how to show the content to the user. The letters "RSS" are used to refer to any of these formats: RSS is also used on exchanges. An example of using RSS is Carbon Place, which uses it to show orders to the public. History. There were other similar formats before RSS that were not as popular. The first one was the Meta Content Framework made in 1995 by Ramanathan V. Guha and others at Apple Computers. The first version of RSS was called RDF Site Summary. It was made by Dan Libby and Ramanathan V. Guha at Netscape and made public in March 1999. This became RSS 0.9. In July 1999, RSS 0.91 was created by Dan Libby, which got rid of some features that weren't useful. It also added elements from Dave Winer's news syndication format. Libby renamed the format from RDF to RSS Rich Site Summary and planned how it should be made better in the future. In 2001, the company was restructured by their owner, AOL, and no longer supported RSS. After that, the format was being developed by the RSS-DEV Working Group and Dave Winer. Winer was the first to write programs that could read and write RSS and
A European Union member state is any one of the twenty-seven countries that have joined the European Union (EU) since it was found in 1958 as the European Economic Community (EEC). From an original membership of six states, there have been five successive enlargements. The largest happened on 1 May 2004, when ten member states joined. Following the addition of Croatia in 2013, the EU's membership now stands at twenty-eight. Negotiations are also under way with other states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. However, this term is also used to refer to the intensification of cooperation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual centralising of power within European institutions. Before being allowed to join the European Union, a state must fulfill the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria: these basically require that a candidate member state must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Under the terms of the Treaty on European Union, enlargement of the Union is conditional upon the agreement of each existing member state as well as approval by the European Parliament. Bulgaria and Romania make up the second part of the EU's fifth enlargement, and joined the EU on 1 January 2007. This date was agreed upon at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, confirmed at Brussels on 18 June 2004, and affirmed by the country reports of October 2004 and the final report delivered on 26 September 2006. Bulgaria and Romania signed their Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005 at a ceremony held at Neumünster Abbey in Luxembourg. The United Kingdom was a former EU member state. It joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973. On 23 June 2016, 51.9% of voters chose to leave the EU. The country formally withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020. This means that there is 27 members of the European Union.