Italy

Coordinates: 43°N 12°E / 43°N 12°E / 43; 12

Italy (ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely Mediterranean and temperate climate; due to its shape, it is often referred to in Italy as lo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.

Since ancient times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian Peninsula respectively. Rome ultimately emerged as the dominant power, conquering much of the ancient world and becoming the leading cultural, political, and religious centre of Western civilisation. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the global distribution of civilian law, Republican governments, Christianity and the latin script.

Roman Italy

Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman Emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian peninsula (from the Alps to the Ionian Sea) was united under the same name. In the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletianus.

Characteristics

Italy (Italia in Latin and Italian) was the name of the administrative division of the Italian peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, thus having a special status. Following the end of the Social War (91–88 BC), Rome had allowed its Italian allies (socii) full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples.

After having been for centuries the heart of the Empire, from the 3rd century the government and the cultural center began to move eastward: first the Edict of Caracalla in 212 AD extended Roman citizenship to all free men within the imperial boundaries, then during Constantine's reign (306–337) the seat of the Empire was moved to Constantinople in 330 AD.

Italia (yacht)

Italia is a 12-metre class yacht that competed in the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup.

References

Toy

A toy is an item that can be used for play. Toys are generally played with by children and pets. Playing with toys is an enjoyable means of training young children for life in society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable to all ages. Many items are designed to serve as toys, but goods produced for other purposes can also be used. For instance, a small child may pick up a household item and "fly" it through the air as to pretend that it is an airplane. Another consideration is interactive digital entertainment. Some toys are produced primarily as collector's items and are intended for display only.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls representing infants, animals, and soldiers, as well as representations of tools used by adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word "toy" is unknown, but it is believed that it was first used in the 14th century. Toys are mainly made for children.

Playing with toys is important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. Younger children use toys to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and reinforce lessons from their youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships, practice skills, and decorate their living spaces.

Walls Have Eyes

Walls Have Eyes is the fourth solo album released by British singer-songwriter Robin Gibb. It was released in November 1985 on EMI America Records in the US and Polydor Records throughout the rest of the world, and produced by Maurice Gibb and Tom Dowd. The two singles from the album, "Like a Fool" and "Toys", did not chart in the US and UK. Gibb did not release a solo album in eighteen years until 2003 with Magnet. Unlike Secret Agent that contains dance numbers, this album is containing mostly ballads.

Background

Writing credits

Barry Gibb co-wrote eight of the ten songs, but he was in the studio only to contribute a part lead vocal to "Toys". The credits for the songs are precisely stated as R. B. & M. Gibb in most cases, and B. R. & M. Gibb in others. Although the songs all have Robin's signature simplicity of form, Barry's hand is evident in the improved melody lines, especially in the verses.

Recording

Like its previous album Secret Agent it was recorded in Criteria Studios rather than the Middle Ear Studio which was owned by the Bee Gees.The only regulars from previous Gibb recordings was George Terry on guitar with Steve Farris of Mr. Mister. Session musician Phil Chen was credited as the bass player on the song "Gone with the Wind".

Toys (video game)

Toys is an action video game for the Super NES and Sega Genesis released in 1993.

The game is based on the 1992 film Toys starring Robin Williams. Chaos has been spread at a toy factory that must be stopped by the player.

Plot

An irresponsible young man (Leslie Zevo) wouldn't take over the company and now his father is dying. In order to get his young adult son to accept his new responsibilities, the father must force him to reclaim his toy factory from a straight-laced Army general (Lt. General Leland) that he has appointed as part of a "test of maturity."

Gameplay

Players are involved in a "toy war" between an army of military-style toys fought with a personalized action figure army using toys found in certain places in the game. The player will start each level only possessing a limited supply of toys, whereas the general will have a virtually unlimited supply of toys to throw at the player. These toys range from the realistic (bowling balls) to the cartoonish (i.e., peanut gun projectiles, radio-controlled cars, water balloons). Crashing a toy plane into General Zevo's windows allows players to beat the game. However, they have to navigate the plane through a scale model of Manhattan and avoid running out of power.