By the end of the 19th century, European powers had carved up all of Africa after the Berlin Conference. Only Ethiopia still known as Abyssinia and the Republic of Liberia still maintained their independence; the newly unified Kingdom of Italy was a relative newcomer to the imperialist scramble for Africa. Two of its obtained African territories, Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, bordered Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa. Italy sought to improve its position in Africa by conquering Ethiopia and joining it with its two territories. Menelik II pitted Italy against its European rivals while stockpiling advanced weapons to defend his empire against the Italians and British. In 1889, the Italians signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Negus Menelik of Shewa; the treaty ceded territories part of Ethiopia, namely the provinces of Bogos, Akele Guzai and parts of Tigray. In return, Italy promised Menelik II continued financial assistance and military supplies. A dispute arose over the interpretation of the two versions of the document.

The Italian-language version of the disputed Article 17 of the treaty stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities. This would in effect make Ethiopia a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy; the Amharic version of the article however, stated that the Emperor could use the good offices of the Kingdom of Italy in his relations with foreign nations if he wished. However, the Italian diplomats claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and that Menelik II knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty; the Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. As a result and Ethiopia came into confrontation, in what was to be known as the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In December 1894, Bahta Hagos led a rebellion against the Italians in Akele Guzai, in what was Italian controlled Eritrea. Units of General Oreste Baratieri's army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta.

The Italian army occupied the Tigrayan capital, Adwa. In January 1895, Baratieri's army went on to defeat Ras Mengesha Yohannes in the Battle of Coatit, forcing Mengesha to retreat further south. By late 1895, Italian forces had advanced deep into Ethiopian territory. On 7 December 1895, Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael, Ras Welle Betul and Ras Mengesha Yohannes commanding a larger Ethiopian group of Menelik's vanguard annihilated a small Italian unit at the Battle of Amba Alagi; the Italians were forced to withdraw to more defensible positions in Tigray Province, where the two main armies faced each other. By late February 1896, supplies on both sides were running low. General Oreste Baratieri, commander of the Italian forces, knew the Ethiopian forces had been living off the land, once the supplies of the local peasants were exhausted, Emperor Menelik II's army would begin to melt away. However, the Italian government insisted. On the evening of 29 February, about to be replaced by a new governor, General Baldissera, met with his brigadier generals Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Vittorio Dabormida, Giuseppe Ellena, concerning their next steps.

He opened the meeting on a negative note, revealing to his brigadiers that provisions would be exhausted in less than five days, suggested retreating as far back as Asmara. His subordinates argued forcefully for an attack, insisting that to retreat at this point would only worsen the poor morale. Dabormida exclaiming, "Italy would prefer the loss of two or three thousand men to a dishonorable retreat." Baratieri delayed making a decision for a few more hours, claiming that he needed to wait for some last-minute intelligence, but in the end announced that the attack would start the next morning at 9:00am. His troops began their march to their starting positions shortly after midnight; the Italian army consisted of four brigades. However, it is that fewer fought in the actual battle on the Italian side: Harold Marcus notes that "several thousand" soldiers were needed in support roles and to guard the lines of communication to the rear, he accordingly estimates. One brigade under General Albertone was made up of Eritrean Ascari led by Italian officers.

The remaining three brigades were Italian units under Brigadiers Dabormida and Arimondi. While these included elite Bersaglieri and Alpini units, a large proportion of the troops were inexperienced conscripts drafted from metropolitan regiments in Italy into newly formed "d'Africa" battalions for service in Africa. Additionally, a limited number of troops were drafted from the Cacciatori d'Africa units of local Italian settlers; as Chris Prouty describes: They had inadequate maps, old-model guns, poor communication equipment and inferior footgear for the rocky ground. Morale was low as the veterans were homesick and the newcomers were too inexperienced to have any esprit de corps. There was a shortage of saddles. Shewa forces.

Peerage robes are worn in the United Kingdom by peers and are of two varieties for two occasions: Parliament robes, worn on ceremonial occasions in the House of Lords, Coronation robes, worn at coronations of monarchs. Peers wear a robe differentiated by features identifying their rank. Since the early Middle Ages, robes have been worn as a sign of nobility. At first, these seem to have been bestowed on individuals by the monarch or feudal lord as a sign of special recognition. Two distinct forms of robe emerged, these remain in current use: one is worn for parliamentary occasions, the other is worn only at coronations. Coronets are worn with the Coronation robe. (Peers under the rank of an Earl, were allowed in 1953 to wear a cheaper "cap of estate" in place of a coronet, as were peeresses of the same rank, for whom a simpler robe was permitted. The Parliament robe of a peer is a full-length garment of scarlet wool with a collar of white miniver fur, it is closed at the front with black silk satin ribbon ties but open from the shoulder on the right-hand side..

The back is cut long, as a train, but this is kept hooked up inside the garment. Miniver bars on the right-hand side of the robe indicate the rank of the wearer: 4 for a duke, 3½ for a marquess, 3 for an earl, 2½ for a viscount, 2 for a baron. Today the principal supplier of such robes is the London tailor Ede & Ravenscroft, founded in 1689; these robes are worn by peers at their Introduction to the House of Lords as well as at the State Opening of Parliament. They are worn by Lords Commissioners when representing the Queen, they are directed to be worn'when the peers attend as a body a church service or other ceremony'. The Parliament robe is only worn by Peers who are sworn members of the House of Lords, the robe is the same for female peers as for males. A black bicorne hat is the official headdress for male peers, female peers wear a specially designed tricone hat, though these are now restricted to certain peers carrying out an official duty where hat doffing is required, e.g. Lords Commissioners at prorogation of parliament or the approbation of a Speaker of the House of Commons.

Before, they were worn at Introductions before the ceremony was simplified to remove the hat doffing portion of the ceremony. Bishops in the House of Lords have their own distinctive parliamentary robe, worn at the State Opening of Parliament, it is akin to the cappa clausa of Cambridge University: a full-length scarlet cloak with a cape of plain white fur. This is worn over rochet & chimere, the normal day dress for Bishops in the House of Lords; as it is a parliament robe, it is not worn at coronations. For male peers, the Coronation robe is a cloak of crimson velvet extending to the feet, open in the front and trailing behind. Attached to the robe is a cape and collar of miniver pure. Peers are entitled to wear the coronation robe whether or not they are members of the House of Lords; the robes are worn with collars of an order of chivalry if entitled. Peeresses wear a crimson robe at coronations, but it is of a different design: a crimson velvet kirtle, edged in miniver, is worn over a full evening dress.

At the top of the train is a miniver cape which has rows of ermine indicating rank, as for their male counterparts. The length of the train denotes the rank of the wearer: duchesses have two-yard trains, marchionesses one and three quarters, countesses one and a half, viscountesses one and a quarter, baronesses one. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries precise details about the design of peers' and peeresses' robes were published by the Earl Marshal in advance of each coronation

The Rybushinsky Museum of Icons and Paintings is a private museum with a collection of more than 2,000 items, comprising Medieval West European paintings and encaustics. The museum started from an exhibition in Amersfoort, Netherlands organised by Igor Vozyakov, a Russian entrepreneur and collector, who donated to Ukraine an ancient icon "Protection of the Holy Virgin"; the museum opened in 2009 in Moscow with an exhibition entitled "Godlessness". It showed the early days of Communism and displaying photos of desecrated churches and slashed icons; the collection includes portraits by Faum, icons ranging from the fifteenth through twentieth centuries, covering iconography centers of Russia, Spain, Flemish Belgium and Flanders masters and cultural heritage pieces. It is the world's largest private icon museum; the museum held a 2012 exhibition focused on fraud, with the goal of drawing attention to the problem of forgery on the Russian art market. The Private Museum of Russian Icon

Shoutin' in Key is a live album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. "Honky Tonk" – 6:19 "EZ Rider" – 3:20 "Ain't That a Lot of Love" – 3:10 "Ev'ry Wind" – 5:14 "Stranger in My Own Hometown" – 2:55 "Woulda Coulda Shoulda" – 3:43 "Leaving Trunk" – 6:06 "Rain from the Sky" – 3:28 "Mailbox Blues" – 3:49 "Cruisin'" –3:47 "Corrina" – 3:44 "Hoochi Coochie Coo" – 3:39 "Sentidos Dulce" – 6:26 Taj Mahal – lead vocals, harmonica, resonator guitar, percussion Tony Braunagel – drums, background vocals, producer Denny Freeman – guitar Larry Fulcher – bass, background vocals Darrell Leonard – trumpet, flugelhorn Joe Sublett – saxophones Mick Weaver – Hammond B3 organ, piano Terry Becker – live recording engineer Steve Bigas – second engineer Joe McGrath – post-production engineer, mixing Carey Williams – MCRecorded at The Mint, Los Angeles, November 9—11, 1998

Gwendoline "Gwen" Farrar was an English duettist, singer and comedian. Gwendoline Farrar was born on 14 July 1897, the daughter of Sir George Farrar, a prominent figure in South African mining and politics, Ella Mabel Waylen, she trained as a cellist. She became famous after the World War I in partnership with Norah Blaney. Between 1921 and 1924 they appeared at leading London and provincial variety theatres, as well as in the cabaret shows: Pot Luck!, starring Jack Hulbert and Beatrice Lillie. Alone, Farrar appeared in: the revue White Birds, starring Maurice Chevalier, Anton Dolin, Billy Mayerl, José Collins and Maisie Gay. Together again and Farrar appeared in The House that Jack Built with Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge upon its transferral to the Winter Garden in 1930. Farrar appeared in three British films: She Shall Have Music, with Jack Hylton. At the time of her father's death, the Farrar family were living at Chicheley Hall, which her father had rented from John G. Chester, whose family had owned the hall since the 1500s.

The death of her father left Gwen a comfortable fortune which, in addition to her own earnings on stage, made her an independent woman. After her mother's death, some of her sisters continued to live as tenants at Chicheley Hall. For a time she lived in Effingham, with Blaney, she was friends with Joe Carstairs and their circle. She was romantically linked to actress Tallulah Bankhead, she died after a short illness on 25 December 1944. A 2014's play, All The Nice Girls by Alison Child and Rosie Wakley, tells the personal and professional partnership of Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney. Child is the author of Tell Me I'm Forgiven: The Story of Forgotten Stars Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney. Gwen Farrar on IMDb

Scandroid is an electronic music project created by Klayton, included Varien in 2013. The project released its debut single, "Salvation Code", on August 6, 2013, added to the debut album Scandroid upon release. Scandroid can be described as encompassing the retro synth melodies of the 80s while still adapting to modern production, thus creating a new retro sound. An image was teased of a skull-like logo, via the Celldweller Facebook page on July 16, 2013 hinting at an incoming project. On July 24, 2013, an official announcement was posted to Celldweller titled "What is the Salvation Code?" In continuation with the teaser, their website SalvationCode.com launched, requiring a password for entry. After entering the password, the users could access an extended preview of the unreleased song used in the previous teaser, were given the hint that August 6, 2013 would be the release of the full song, "Salvation Code". During the teaser of the second video, an image of Klayton and Varien can be seen implying the duo working together on this new single.

Both musicians posted to their individual social pages, along with the newly created Scandroid page. The post stated that Scandroid's music would consist of elements of 1980s retro and electronic music with what they described as a "Neo-Tokyo" theme, their first single "Salvation Code" was released for free download on August 5, 2013, with an official store release the next day. New merchandise was teased with a link to the download; the project was promoted on both the Varien social pages. On November 8, 2013 it was hinted by both Celldweller and Varien that a new Scandroid track would be released soon. On December 7, 2013, Scandroid released an image, with a comment stating that "Hidden in this flyer lies a clue regarding the next transmission...". Another teaser image released on the 11th, teasing a date alongside a quote "Get lost in the Datastream." On December 13, 2013, a new single titled Datastream was released with a new riddle. When the single was released, an image was released along with the purchase of the track.

This image's file extension could be changed to.pdf. Varien, signed as Nick Pittsinger on the label, posted to Twitter that he would no longer be part of Scandroid, deciding instead to focus purely on Varien on August 2, 2014. Three days Scandroid's new single "Empty Streets" was released; this self-titled album, was released on November 11, 2016, which charted for one week at No. 20 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums at No. 5. A cover of the Tears for Fears song "Shout" was premiered on November 10, 2016. Klayton intended to record it since first hearing it back in 1985. Roland Orzabal explained that the song is about the political protests from the aftermath of the Cold War, that it was encouragement to protest. Tapping into this core meaning for inspiration, Klayton felt that in light of the political unrest of 2016, that it was time to cover the song; the song is described as remaining faithful to the original, while still adding its own flair using amazing synths that are reminiscent of classic 80s pop.

Although Varien was the writer for "Datastream" and "Salvation Code", according to the credits provided, Klayton produced, performed and wrote the rest of the songs that debut on Scandroid. On March 31, 2017, a new album, Dreams of Neo-Tokyo, was released featuring remixes of the ten vocal tracks released on Scandroid; the release was remixed by artists such as Dance with the Dead, Maks_SF, Waveshaper. The remixes have been described as being subtle, still sounding like Scandroid, but standing out as their own tracks. A contest held by Klayton in partnership with NewRetroWave would create three remix albums: Awakening With You and Neo-Tokyo; the contest was announced on March 9, 2017 and was held from March 12 to April 30. Participants could choose from three songs to remix; as well as releasing information in regards to the winners of the competition, all three dates were released for the remix albums via NewRetroWave: "Awakening With You" on June 16, "Aphelion" on August 4, "Neo-Tokyo" on September 15.

Released on October 27, 2017, Monochrome is considered the second full-length album of Scandroid. It charted for one week at No. 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as on the Top Dance/Electronic Album Sales at No. 3. The album has numerous released singles, as well as new vocal and instrumental tracks that range from synth-pop to darkwave; some notable covers include "The Force Theme", "Thriller", as well as the popular single "Rendezvous". "The Force Theme" debuted on May 4, 2014 as a special single for Star Wars Day but was included on Monochrome. I was excited to cover'The Force Theme' because I wanted to blend classic analog synthesizers with a re-orchestration of the original