Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-12-04/Featured content

F*&!

Featured articles

Seventeen featured articles were promoted over the last two weeks.

• Fuck (film) (nom) by Cirt. Fuck is an American documentary film by director Steve Anderson, providing perspectives on the word from linguists, lexicographers and journalists, as well as celebrities and comedians. Anderson was inspired by comedian George Carlin's monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". The documentary was first shown at the 2005 AFI Film Festival, and received mixed reviews.
• Melbourne Castle (nom) by Jimfbleak. From the early fourteenth century, this castle in Derbyshire was mainly in the possession of the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster or the crown. John I, Duke of Bourbon, was kept at Melbourne for 19 years after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. All that remains today is a section of wall and some foundations.
• Fakih Usman (nom) by Crisco 1492. Fakih (1904–1968) was an Indonesian Islamic leader and politician with the Masyumi Party. Per the nominator, he is "pretty much forgotten in most histories of Indonesia that I've read. He gets more mention as the chairman of [the modernist Islamic organisation] Muhammadiyah – a position he held for less than a week before his death."
• Homer Davenport (nom) by Montanabw and Wehwalt. A US political cartoonist and writer, Davenport (1867–1912) satirized figures of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Although he had no formal art training, he became one of the highest paid political cartoonists in the world. Davenport was also one of the first major American breeders of Arabian horses.
• Spanish conquest of Petén (nom) by Simon Burchell. Per the nominator: "In the late 17th century ... the last independent Maya kingdoms were still practising human sacrifice upon pyramid temples, as their ancestors had done for many hundreds of years. They had been aware of the encroaching Spanish Empire since 1525, when Hernán Cortés had made an epic journey across their territory. ... With the [Mayan] Itza alternating between diplomatic overtures and the ambushing of Spanish expeditions, soldiers and friars alike fell beneath the spears and sacrificial knives of the Maya, although the outcome was perhaps inevitable."
• Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar (nom) by Wehwalt. This coin was issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. Intended to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Elgin, it was designed by local sculptor Trygve Rovelstad. Art historian Cornelius Vermeule considered the Elgin coin among the most outstanding American commemoratives.
• Paul Henderson (nom) by Resolute. Born in 1943, Henderson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player best known for leading Team Canada to victory at the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Played at the height of the Cold War, the series was viewed as a battle for both hockey and cultural supremacy. Henderson scored the game-winning goal in the sixth, seventh and eighth games, the last of which was voted the "sports moment of the century" by the Canadian Press. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2013.
• Lionel Palairet (nom) by Harrias. Palairet (1870–1933) was an English amateur cricketer who played for Somerset and Oxford University. His obituary in The Times described him as "the most beautiful batsman of all time". He was selected to play Test cricket for England twice in 1902, but an unwillingness to tour during the English winter limited Palairet's Test appearances.
• No. 33 Squadron RAAF (nom) by Ian Rose. This Royal Australian Air Force strategic transport and air-to-air refuelling squadron has supported operations in Namibia, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan; now it operates tanker transports from RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. The squadron was first formed in February 1942 for service during World War II.
• The Unnatural (The X-Files) (nom) by Gen. Quon. This X-Files episode, first aired on April 25, 1999, was written by lead actor David Duchovny. It has been critically examined for its use of literary motifs, its fairy tale-like structure, and its themes concerning racism and alienation.
• Jethro Sumner (nom) by Cdtew. During the American Revolutionary War, Sumner (c. 1733 – 1785) served in both the Southern theater and Philadelphia campaign between 1779 and 1783 as one of five brigadier generals from North Carolina in the Continental Army. He helped to establish the North Carolina Chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati, now the oldest lineage society in North America, and became its first president.
• Interstate 196 (nom) by Imzadi1979. The second freeway in the US state of Michigan to bear this number, I-196 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs for 81 miles (130 km). It links Benton Harbor, South Haven, Holland, and Grand Rapids.
• Redback spider (nom) by 99of9 and Casliber. Latrodectus hasseltii is a "widow" spider indigenous to Australia. The redback is one of only a few arachnids that usually display sexual cannibalism while mating, and also one of the few spiders that can be seriously harmful to humans; it has been responsible for the large majority of serious spider bites in Australia.
• The Sinking of the Lusitania (nom) by Curly Turkey. This silent animated short film from 1918 by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay was a work of propaganda, a re-creation of the never-photographed 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania. At twelve minutes it has been called the longest work of animation at the time of its release. The film is the earliest animated documentary and serious, dramatic work of animation to survive.
• nom) by Another Believer
  . Variously described as "bizarre", "playful", "unique", and "wacky", this tourist attraction in Portland, Oregon (US) displays a two-minute weather prediction each day at noon.
• Dromaeosauroides (nom) by FunkMonk. This Danish dinosaur had sentimental value to the nominator, being a self-described "dinosaur geek" from the country. This shows in the care given to the article, which evolved with assistance from one of the discoverers of fossilized remains.
• Japanese battleship Mutsu (nom) by Sturmvogel 66. This battleship was an irritant to diplomats negotiating the Washington Naval Treaty, as the Japanese government refused to scrap the incomplete ship, claiming that it had already been commissioned. Mutsu served into the Second World War, but only fired its guns in anger once before being destroyed in an ammunition magazine explosion in 1943.

Featured lists

Four featured lists were promoted in the last two weeks.

• List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Curtly Ambrose (nom) by Sahara4u. This former West Indian cricketer has taken 26 five-wicket hauls at international level. (A five-wicket haul refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings, and is regarded as a notable achievement in cricket.) His final one was taken against Australia in 1999.
• List of works by Kwee Tek Hoay (nom) by Crisco 1492. This Chinese-Indonesian author wrote over sixty books or serials throughout the 20th century. Some were fiction, while others were on topics such as the teachings of Laozi, Zhuangzi and Confucius. He also authored plays, essays and other works.
• List of Olympic men's ice hockey players for the United States (nom) by Giants2008. The United States has participated in 21 of 22 Olympic ice hockey tournaments, and has sent 42 goaltenders and 271 skaters to compete. They have won two gold medals, eight silver medals and one bronze medal since 1920.
• Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (nom) by Ben MacDui. Written in 1549, this early account of the islands of Scotland's west coast has become one of the most widely quoted works on the subject.

Featured pictures

Twenty-eight featured pictures were promoted in the last two weeks.

• Woman playing a large suspended drum (tsuridaiko) (nom, related article 1/2/3) created by Yashima Gakutei, uploaded by DcoetzeeBot, and nominated by I JethroBT. From the Google Art Project, this Japanese surimono was created c. 1827.
• Planet Herald
  . This galaxy, named NGC 1097, is 50 million light-years away from us on Earth. It is similarly shaped to the Milky Way. This color-coded infrared image shows a black hole in the center of this galaxy as blue and the outer stars as white.
• Downtown Tampa (nom) created and nominated by Alvesgaspar. The skyline of this American city was taken from the Embassy Suite Hotel, looking north.
• US Federal Reserve Bank Note (FRBN) type set by denomination (nom) taken and nominated by Godot13. Part of a larger series from the US' National Numismatic Collection that have all been digitized by the nominator.
• Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève reading room (nom, related article) created by Marie-Lan Nguyen and nominated by Elekhh. This French library holds about two million documents and encloses a very large reading room, seen in the image.
• David Faiman (nom, related article) created by David Shankbone and nominated by Elekhh. Israeli engineer and physicist Faiman is the director of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center and a world expert on solar power. He lives in a passive solar house that heats and cools itself without any mechanical assistance.
• Lichtbringer ("Bringer of Light") on the Böttcherstraße (nom, related articles 1/2) created by Bernhard Hoetger and photographed/nominated by Godot13. This sculpted relief was intended to emulate "victory of our Führer over the powers of darkness", but was rejected by Hitler as being part of the "entartete Kunst", or degenerate art.
• related article) created by Kadellar and nominated by Tomer T
  . Freestyle Motocross is a variation of off-road motorcycle racing where the riders instead perform tricks, which are graded by judges. This image is of a Spanish rider performing "Rock Solid".
• related article) created by Roland zh and nominated by Tomer T
  . This Swiss opera house has been home to the city's opera since 1891. Built after a previous theater burnt down, the building was restored amid harsh local opposition, which the Wikipedia article on it describes as "street riots".
• Al-Aqsa Mosque (nom, related article) created and nominated by Godot13. This mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam and is located in Israel.
• Gold certificates (nominations 1, 2, 3) photographed by Godot13. Part of the National Numismatic Collection series mentioned above, these notes were printed for the 1882 and 1934 series. The $10,000 note is illegal to own as it was never circulated.
• The Day the Earth Smiled (nom, related article) created by NASA and nominated by Crisco 1492. The US' Cassini unmanned spacecraft was sent to Saturn in 1997 and has captured Saturn and its entire ring system during a solar eclipse three times. The third took place on 19 July 2013, and the public was asked to mark the day "to celebrate life on planet Earth and humanity's accomplishments in the exploration of the solar system." The photograph's final post-processing form and this featured picture were released to the public on 12 November and quickly went viral on the Internet; it was also featured on the New York Times' front page on the following day.
• Sukhoi Superjet 100 over Italy (nom, related article) created by Superjet International, uploaded by Russavia, and nominated by Nikhil. As Sukhoi's attempt to break into the regional jet market, the company claims that the plane has both a lower purchase price and lower operating costs than its direct competitors. According to the Wikipedia article, it currently has built or has orders for 284 planes, with options for a further 107, but a Reuters article shows that the company hopes that the program will at least break even only by 2015.

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4 December 2013

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