Alba (watch)

Alba is a sub-brand of Seiko Watch Corporation that produces a line of wristwatches. It first appeared in 1979. Using Seiko's own family of movements but with modern styling designed to appeal especially to younger customers, Alba watches are primarily aimed at Asian markets in the hope of creating long-term loyalty to the Seiko group as these customers' purchasing power increases. Many of its cleaner designs also appeal to current traditionalist consumers.

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Alba Silvius

Alba Silvius (said to have reigned 1028-989 BC) was in Roman mythology the fifth king of Alba Longa. He was the son of Latinus Silvius and the father of Atys. He reigned thirty-nine years.

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Alba, Piedmont

Alba (Latin: Alba Pompeia) is a town and comune of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the UNESCO Human Heritage hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production. The confectionery group Ferrero is based there.

History

Alba's origins date from before the Roman civilization, connected probably to the presence of Celtic and Ligurian tribes in the area.

The modern town occupies the site of ancient Alba Pompeia, the name given after being officially recognized as a town by the Roman consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo while constructing a road from Aquae Statiellae (Acqui) to Augusta Taurinorum (Turin). Alba was the birthplace of Publius Helvius Pertinax, briefly Roman emperor in 193.

After the fall of the Western Empire, the city was repeatedly sacked by Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Byzantines, Lombards, Franks, Hungarians and Saracens. In the 11th century it become a free commune (or city-state) and was a member of the Lombard League. Montferrat and the Visconti fought over the town; later it became a possession of the Gonzaga. Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy conquered it twice, while later France and Spain battled for its possession. The Treaty of Cherasco (1631) assigned Alba definitively to Savoy. During Napoleonic Wars, it was part of Republic of Alba in 1796 and Subalpine Republic, which were French clients before annexing to French Empire in 1802. It was an arrondissement center in firstly Tanaro department between 1802-1805, later in Stura one between 1805-1814 before liberation by Austrian troops. It was returned to Kingdom of Sardinia (Duchy of Savoy's name after gaining Sardinia in 1720) in 1814.

Daniel Odier

Daniel Robert Odier (born in 1945 in Geneva), also known by his pseudonym Delacorta, is a Swiss author and screenwriter. Praised by Anaïs Nin as "an outstanding writer and a dazzling poet," he is also a prolific writer on Eastern religious traditions, especially Tantra.

Biography

Odier began studies at the school of Beaux Arts at Rome but later chose to focus on writing rather than painting. He received his university degree in Paris and was employed by a leading Swiss newspaper as a music critic. He has taught screen writing at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He is married to the violinist Nell Gotkovsky.

Odier is a teacher of Tantra, claiming in his book Tantric Quest, and in his teaching, to have experienced a mystical initiation from a tantric dakini, Lalita Devi, in Kashmir. Odier also claims to have received dharma transmission from Jing Hui, abbot of Bailin Monastery and dharma successor of Hsu Yun, using the name "Ming Qing". He founded the "Tantra/Chan centre" in Paris, which operated from 1995 to 2000, and has taught courses on Eastern spiritual traditions at the University of California. He has published a number of books on Tantra and related subjects, some of which have been translated into English and other languages.

Alba (1913 automobile)

The Alba was a French car made by Constructions Métallurgiques, Usines Alba, Suresnes, Seine between 1913 and 1928.

Engines

The car was offered with a choice of 4-cylinder engines, including a side-valve 8 horsepower (6.0 kW) of 1172 cc made by S.C.A.P., a 1476 cc overhead-valve by S.C.A.P., and a 1994 cc Altos with either side or overhead valves.

Transmission and brakes

The rear wheels were driven through a 4-speed gearbox. Albas were also fitted with front-wheel brakes, an advanced feature on a light car of the time. In 1921 a smaller 1243 cc model, the Bobby Alba, was offered with 3-speed gearbox.

Racing

In 1924, Alba entered the Le Mans 24-hour race, but without success.

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Alba (poetry)

The alba (Old Occitan [ˈalba]; "sunrise") is a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry. It describes the longing of lovers who, having passed a night together, must separate for fear of being discovered by their respective spouses.

A common figure found in the alba is the guaita ("sentry" or "guard"), a friend who alerts the lovers when the hour has come to separate. The lovers often accuse the guaita of dozing, being inattentive or separating them too early. The lovers fear not just the lady's husband but also the lauzengiers, the jealous rival.

The following example, composed by an anonymous troubadour, describes the longing of a knight for his lady as they part company after a night of forbidden love. Though generally representative of the style, this particular verse uses an atypical strophic pattern.

Under the influence of the Occitan troubadours, the Minnesingers developed a similar genre, the Tagelied, in Germany, and in northern France the trouvères developed an equivalent aube genre. The alba itself was imported into the Galician-Portuguese trovadorismo movement, but only one example of it, by Nuno Fernandes Torneol, survives.