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.

Toy dog

Toy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include Spaniels, Pinschers and Terriers that have been bred down in size. Not all toy dogs are lapdogs, although that is an important and ancient type of toy dog. The very smallest toy dogs are sometimes called teacup size, although no major dog registry recognizes that term.

Small dogs

Dogs referred to as toy or teacup dogs, are dogs found in the Toy Group of breed registries, may be of the very ancient lapdog type, or they may be small versions of hunting dogs or working dogs, bred down in size for a particular kind of work or to create a pet of convenient size. In the past, very small dogs not used for hunting were kept as symbols of affluence, as watchdogs, and for the health function of attracting fleas away from their owners.

Breeds

Most major dog clubs in the English-speaking world have a toy group, under one exact name or another, in which they place breeds of dog that the kennel club categorises as toy, based on size and tradition. The Kennel Club (UK), the Canadian Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, the Australian National Kennel Council, and the New Zealand Kennel Club all have a group named "Toy", all though they may not all categorise the same breeds in this category. The United States has a second major kennel club, the United Kennel Club (UKC, originally formed for hunting and working breeds, though general today), and it does not recognize such a group; instead, small dogs are placed with larger dogs of their type, or into a UKC's "Companion Dog" group.As of September 2008, the American Kennel Club began debating whether or not to change the name of their "Toy" group to "Companion", in order to emphasise that dogs are not playthings, but the name change was resisted by traditionalists.

Toy (Toy album)

TOY is the 2012 eponymous debut album by London-based band TOY.

The album was recorded in early 2012, by music producer Dan Carey at his South London studio. Their album artwork is by artist Leif Podhajsky

Tracklisting

References

Mambo (Azúcar Moreno album)

Mambo is the fifth studio album by Spanish duo Azúcar Moreno, released on CBS-Epic in 1991.

The duo's two previous studio albums Carne De Melocotón and Bandido had resulted in the release of two remix albums, Mix in Spain and The Sugar Mix Album. Mambo was their first studio album on which the influences from contemporary dance music genres like house music, R&B and hip hop were fully integrated in the original production; the track "Feria" even saw the sisters making their debut as rappers. The album was also the first not to be entirely recorded in Spain or predominantly produced by their longtime collaborator Julio Palacios - it had no less than ten producers.

The lead single "Torero!", although as typically flamenco-flavoured as their international breakthrough single "Bandido", was in fact written and produced by Englishmen Nick Fisher and Garry Hughes and German Zeus B. Held and was recorded in London. Fisher and Hughes have since gone on to collaborate with numerous artists in the electronica/experimental/world music genres under the moniker Echo System, including Björk, The Shamen, Salif Keita, Garbage and Pop Will Eat Itself. "Torero!" was in 1992 covered in Turkish under the title "Yetti Artik" ("That's it" in Turkish) by Tarkan, one of Turkey's biggest stars both domestically and internationally. The song was included on his debut album Yine Sensiz ("Again without you" in Turkish).

Mambo (music)

Mambo is a musical form and dance style that developed originally in Cuba, with further significant developments by Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians in Mexico and the USA. The word "mambo" means "conversation with the gods" in Kikongo, the language spoken by Central African slaves taken to Cuba.

History

Modern mambo began with a song called "Mambo" written in 1938 by brothers Orestes and Cachao López. The song was a danzón, a dance form descended from European social dances like the English country dance, French contredanse, and Spanish contradanza. It was backed by rhythms derived from African folk music.

Origins (Contradanza and charanga)

Contradanza arrived in Cuba in the 18th century, where it became known as danza and grew very popular. The arrival of black Haitians later that century changed the face of contradanza, adding a syncopation called cinquillo (which is also found in another contradanza-derivative, Argentine tango).

By the end of the 19th century, contradanza had grown lively and energetic, unlike its European counterpart, and was then known as danzón. The 1877 song "Las alturas de Simpson" was one of many tunes that created a wave of popularity for danzón. One part of the danzón was a coda which became improvised over time. The bands then were brass (orquestra tipica), but was followed by smaller groups called charangas.

Mambo (Vodou)

Mambo is the term for a female (as opposed to the Houngan, or male) High Priest in the Vodou religion in Haiti.

Mambo are the highest form of clergy in the religion, whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage.

There are two ranks of mambo, mambo asogwe (high priestess) and mambo sur pwen / mambo sur point ("junior priestess"). A mambo asogwe is the highest member of clergy in vodou; she is the only one with authority to ordain other priests.

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