Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 2014

Today's featured article archive

September 1

Hilda Rix Nicholas (1884–1961) was an Australian artist. After training under leading Heidelberg School painter, Frederick McCubbin, she travelled to Europe in 1907 and studied in both London and Paris. Visiting Tangiers in 1912, she was one of the first Australians to paint Post-Impressionist landscapes and was made a member of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français. During World War I, she met and married Major George Nicholas; she spent only three days with him before he returned to duty and was killed on the Western Front. Returning to Australia, she held an exhibition of over a hundred works in Melbourne's Guild Hall. Many sold, including In Picardy, purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria. Spending the mid-1920s in Europe, she enjoyed significant success and was made an Associate of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. In 1926, Rix Nicholas returned again to Australia. A staunch critic of modernism, she disdained emerging artists such as Russell Drysdale and William Dobell. She fell out of step with Australian art and her last solo show was in 1947. Her works, which portray an Australian pastoral ideal, are held in most major Australian collections. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Indian Head eagle – Clackline Bridge – 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game

September 2

Lionel Palairet (1870–1933) was an English amateur cricketer who played for Somerset and Oxford University. A graceful right-handed batsman, he was selected to play Test cricket for England twice in 1902; an unwillingness to tour during the English winter limited his Test appearances. For Somerset, he frequently opened the batting with Herbie Hewett. In 1892, they shared a partnership of 346 for the first wicket, an opening stand that set a record for the County Championship and remains Somerset's highest first-wicket partnership. In that season, Palairet was named as one of the "Five Batsmen of the Year" by Wisden. Over the following decade, he was one of the leading amateur batsmen in England. He passed 1,000 first-class runs in a season on seven occasions, and struck two double centuries. After 1904, he appeared infrequently for Somerset, though he played a full season in 1907 when he was chosen to captain the county. He retired from first-class cricket in 1909, having scored over 15,000 runs. Contemporaries judged Palairet to have one of the most attractive batting styles of the period, and his obituary in The Times described him as "the most beautiful batsman of all time". (Full article...)

Recently featured: Hilda Rix Nicholas – Indian Head eagle – Clackline Bridge

September 3

The Tanque Argentino Mediano ("Argentine Medium Tank", or "TAM") is the main battle tank in service with the Argentine Army. Lacking the experience and resources to design a tank, the Argentine Ministry of Defense contracted German company Thyssen-Henschel. The vehicle was based on the chassis of the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle. The TAM met the Argentine Army's requirement for a modern light-weight and fast tank with a low silhouette and sufficient firepower to defeat contemporary armored threats. Development began in 1974, and full-scale production started in 1979. Economic difficulties halted production in 1983, but manufacturing began anew in 1994 until the army's order of 200 tanks was fulfilled. The TAM series includes seven different variants, such as a 155 mm (6.1 in) self-propelled howitzer and a self-propelled mortar vehicle. In total, over 280 such vehicles were built, including armored personnel carriers, artillery and mortar pieces. The TAM has never seen combat, although 17 VCTP (Infantry Fighting Vehicles based on the TAM chassis) were deployed to Croatia for the United Nations UNPROFOR peacekeeping mission. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Lionel Palairet – Hilda Rix Nicholas – Indian Head eagle

September 4

The Whistleblower is a 2010 thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki and starring Rachel Weisz (pictured). It was inspired by the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who worked as a United Nations peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina for DynCorp International in 1999 and discovered a sex trafficking ring serving (and being facilitated by) DynCorp employees, with the UN turning a blind eye. The Whistleblower—a co-production between Canada, Germany, and the United States—was filmed in Romania in 2009. It premiered on September 13, 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Samuel Goldwyn Films distributed the film in theaters in the United States. The film was advertised as a fictionalization of events occurring during the late 1990s. Kondracki said that the facts are broadly accurate but some details were omitted for the film. Despite garnering mixed reviews, The Whistleblower received several awards and nominations, including three nominations at the 2012 Genie Awards. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted a screening of the film and promised action would be taken to prevent further instances of human trafficking. The Guardian reported that other UN officials attempted to downplay the events depicted and that initiatives against trafficking in Bosnia were aborted. (Full article...)

Recently featured: TAM (tank) – Lionel Palairet – Hilda Rix Nicholas

September 5

A protoplanetary disk forming in the Orion Nebula

The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in cosmogony explaining the formation and evolution of the Solar System, which suggests that it formed from nebulous material in space. The hypothesis offers explanations for some of the Solar System's properties, including the nearly circular and coplanar orbits of the planets, and their motion in the same direction as the Sun's rotation. According to the hypothesis, Sun-like stars form over about 100 million years, in massive, gravitationally unstable clouds of molecular hydrogen (giant molecular clouds). Matter coalesces to smaller, denser clumps within, which then rotate, collapse, and form stars. Star formation produces a gaseous protoplanetary disk around the young star, which may give birth to planets (protoplanetary disk pictured in the Orion Nebula). The formation of planetary systems is thought to be a natural result of star formation, with dense terrestrial planets forming closer to the star and colder giant planets forming further away, beyond the so-called frost line. Originally applied only to our own Solar System, the nebular hypothesis is now thought to be at work throughout the universe. (Full article...)

Recently featured: The Whistleblower – TAM (tank) – Lionel Palairet

September 6

U.S. President William McKinley was shot and fatally wounded on September 6, 1901, while shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He died on September 14 from gangrene caused by the bullet wounds. Re-elected president in 1900, McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to take security precautions. The Secretary to the President, George B. Cortelyou, feared an assassination attempt at the Temple of Music, but McKinley kept the visit in the schedule. The assassin was Leon Czolgosz, who had lost his job during the economic Panic of 1893. He regarded McKinley as a symbol of oppression, and felt it was his duty as an anarchist to kill him. Unable to get near McKinley earlier in the visit, Czolgosz shot McKinley twice as the President reached to shake his hand in the reception line (1905 illustration shown). McKinley initially appeared to be recovering, but took a turn for the worse on September 13 and died early the next morning; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him. Czolgosz was executed for the murder and Congress passed legislation giving the responsibility of protecting the president to the Secret Service. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Nebular hypothesis – The Whistleblower – TAM (tank)

September 7

Megadeth is a thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson. It is credited as one of thrash metal's "big four" with Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer, responsible for the genre's development and popularization. Megadeth's music features fast rhythm sections and complex arrangements; themes of death, war, politics and religion are prominent in the lyrics. The success of its debut album on an independent label led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. The band's first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986), greatly influenced the underground metal scene; albums and worldwide tours in the 1990s brought Megadeth public recognition. The group has sold 50 million records worldwide, earned U.S. platinum certification for six of its fourteen studio albums, and received eleven Grammy nominations. The band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, regularly appears on album artwork and since 2010 in live shows. The group has experienced controversy over its musical approach and lyrics: concerts have been canceled, albums banned, and MTV refused to play two videos that it considered to condone suicide. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Assassination of William McKinley – Nebular hypothesis – The Whistleblower

September 8

Wendell H. Ford (born 1924) is a retired American politician from Kentucky. He was the 53rd Governor of Kentucky then served for 24 years in the U.S. Senate. He was the first person to be successively elected lieutenant governor, governor, and U.S. senator in Kentucky history. After studying at the University of Kentucky and serving in World War II, he worked on the successful 1959 gubernatorial campaign of Bert T. Combs, and became his executive assistant. Ford served one term in the Kentucky Senate, was elected lieutenant governor in 1967, and in 1971 defeated Combs in the Democratic primary en route to the governorship. As governor, Ford raised revenue through a severance tax on coal and reformed the educational system. Due to the rapid rise of Ford and many of his political allies, he and his lieutenant governor, Julian Carroll, were investigated on charges of political corruption, but a grand jury refused to indict them. After his election as senator in 1974, Ford was a staunch defender of Kentucky's tobacco industry, and was Senate Democratic whip from 1991 to 1999. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he was the longest-serving senator in Kentucky's history. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Megadeth – Assassination of William McKinley – Nebular hypothesis

September 9

The willie wagtail is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest. Measuring 19.0–21.5 cm (7½–8½ in) in length, the willie wagtail is contrastingly coloured with almost entirely black upperparts and white underparts; the male and female have similar plumage. Three subspecies are recognised: one from central and southern Australia, another from northern Australia, and the third from New Guinea and islands in its vicinity. The willie wagtail is insectivorous and spends much time chasing prey in open habitat. Its name is derived from its habit of wagging its tail horizontally when foraging on the ground. Aggressive and territorial, the willie wagtail will often harass much larger birds such as the laughing kookaburra and wedge-tailed eagle. It has responded well to human alteration of the landscape and is a common sight in urban lawns, parks, and gardens. It was widely featured in aboriginal folklore around the country as either a bringer of bad news or a stealer of secrets. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Wendell H. Ford – Megadeth – Assassination of William McKinley

September 10

Hurricane Esther was the first tropical cyclone to be discovered by satellite imagery. The fifth tropical cyclone, fifth named storm, and fifth hurricane of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Esther developed from an area of disturbed weather hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands on September 10. The storm moved and strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane and peaked with sustained winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) on September 18. Esther began to weaken while approaching New England and fell to Category 3 intensity on September 21, later weakening to a tropical storm, and struck Cape Cod and southeastern Maine on September 26, dissipating early on September 27. Between North Carolina and New Jersey effects were primarily limited to strong winds and minor beach erosion and coastal flooding due to storm surge. In New York, strong winds led to severe crop losses and over 300,000 power outages. Some areas observed more than 8 inches (200 mm) of rainfall. Overall, damage was minor, totaling about $6 million. There were also seven deaths reported when a United States Navy P5M aircraft crashed about 120 miles (190 km) north of Bermuda. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Willie wagtail – Wendell H. Ford – Megadeth

September 11

Verbascum thapsus is a species of mullein native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia. It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall or more. Its small yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which grows from a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seed require open ground to germinate. It is a very minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive tilling. It is widely used for herbal remedies with emollient and astringent properties. It is known to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, expectorant, and analgesic properties. It is recommended for coughs and related problems, but also used in topical applications against a variety of skin problems. The plant was also used to make dyes and torches. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Hurricane Esther – Willie wagtail – Wendell H. Ford

September 12

The problem of religious language considers whether it is possible to talk about God meaningfully if the traditional conceptions of God as being incorporeal, infinite, and timeless, are accepted. Various theories of religious language either attempt to show that such language is meaningless, or that it can still be meaningful. The via negativa is a way of referring to God according to what he is not. Analogy uses human qualities as standards against which to compare divine qualities. Symbolism is used non-literally to describe otherwise ineffable experiences. A mythological interpretation of religion attempts to reveal fundamental truths behind religious stories. Alternative explanations of religious language cast it as having political, performative, or imperative functions. Logical positivists argue that religious language is meaningless because its propositions are impossible to verify. Religion has also been classified as a language game that is meaningful within its own context. Others have used parables to approach the problem, such as R. M. Hare's parable of a lunatic, and John Hick's parable of the Celestial City to propose his theory of eschatological verification. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Verbascum thapsus – Hurricane Esther – Willie wagtail

September 13

An attempted coup took place in South Vietnam before dawn on September 13, 1964. Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức sent dissident units into the capital Saigon to overthrow the ruling military junta led by General Nguyễn Khánh. They captured key points and announced the overthrow of the regime on national radio. In the previous month, Khánh's leadership had become increasingly troubled. He had tried to augment his powers by declaring a state of emergency; this provoked large-scale protests calling for an end to military rule. Fearful of losing power, Khánh began making concessions and promised democracy in the near future. He also removed military officials linked to the discriminatory Catholic rule of the former President Ngô Đình Diệm, including Phát (Interior Minister) and Đức (IV Corps commander), who responded with a coup. With American help, Khánh rallied support and the coup collapsed the next morning without casualties. Despite Khánh's survival, the historian George McTurnan Kahin has described the coup as the start of Khánh's ultimate political decline. His relations with America became increasingly strained and he was deposed in February 1965 with US connivance. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Problem of religious language – Verbascum thapsus – Hurricane Esther

September 14

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II was the second of the Kaiser Friedrich III class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven. She was launched on 14 September 1897 and commissioned into the fleet in 1902. She was armed with four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin turrets and powered by triple expansion engines that delivered a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of the German fleet until 1906, participating in fleet training exercises and visits to foreign ports. After the new dreadnought battleships began entering service in 1908, she was decommissioned, then reactivated between 1910 and 1912 for training ship duties in the Baltic. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sister ships were brought back into duty as coastal defense ships in the V Battle Squadron. Her age, coupled with shortages of ship crews, led to her withdrawal from this role in February 1915; after which she served as a command ship for the High Seas Fleet, based in Wilhelmshaven. She was sold for scrap in the early 1920s. (Full article...)

Part of the Battleships of Germany featured topic.

Recently featured: September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt – Problem of religious language – Verbascum thapsus

September 15

The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the south-west corner of Morotai, a small island in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), which the Allies needed as a base to support the liberation of the Philippines later that year. The invading forces greatly outnumbered the island's Japanese defenders, and secured their objectives in two weeks. Japanese reinforcements were landed on the island between September and November, but lacked the supplies needed to effectively attack the Allied defensive perimeter. Intermittent fighting continued until the end of the war, with the Japanese troops suffering heavy loss of life from disease and starvation. South-western Morotai was subsequently developed into a major Allied base, with facilities on the island being used to support landings in the Philippines and Borneo. Torpedo boats and aircraft based at Morotai also harassed Japanese positions in the NEI. Morotai remained an important logistical hub and command center until the Dutch reestablished their colonial rule in the NEI. (Full article...)

Recently featured: SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II – September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt – Problem of religious language

September 16

The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was a soccer match between Seattle Sounders FC and the Chicago Fire played on October 4, 2011, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Seattle Sounders FC won by defeating the Chicago Fire 2–0 with goals scored by Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso. The match was the culmination of the 2011 tournament, which was open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. The tournament was the 98th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. The attendance of 36,615 at the final set a tournament record. Seattle had previously won the 2009 and 2010 tournaments, making them the first team since 1968 to win three consecutive championships (trophies pictured) and the fourth team to do so in the tournament's history. Seattle won a berth in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League and a $100,000 cash prize. Following the final, criticism arose regarding Seattle hosting each round of the tournament they played. In response, changes to the rules for determining hosting rights were announced. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Battle of Morotai – SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II – September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt

September 17

George Formby (1904–1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comical songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, and became the UK's highest-paid entertainer. After an early career as a stable boy and jockey, Formby took to the music hall stage after the early death of his father in 1921. In 1923 he purchased a ukulele, and married Beryl Ingham, a fellow-performer who became his manager. She insisted that he appear on stage formally dressed, and introduced the ukulele to his performance. He started his recording career in 1926 and, from 1934, he increasingly worked in film to develop into a major star. During the Second World War, Formby entertained civilians and troops (pictured in France), and by 1946 it was estimated that he had performed in front of three million service personnel. After the war his career declined, although he toured the Commonwealth, and continued to appear in variety and pantomime. Formby was considered Britain's first properly home-grown screen comedian. He was an influence on future comedians—particularly Charlie Drake and Norman Wisdom—and, culturally, on entertainers such as the Beatles. (Full article...)

Recently featured: 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – Battle of Morotai – SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II

September 18

Joanna Yeates (1985–2010) was a landscape architect from Hampshire, England, who went missing on 17 December 2010 in Bristol after an evening out with colleagues. Following a highly publicised appeal for information on her whereabouts and intensive police enquiries, her body was discovered on 25 December 2010; a post-mortem examination determined that she had been strangled. The murder inquiry was one of the largest police investigations ever undertaken in the Bristol area. The case dominated UK news coverage around Christmas. The police initially arrested Christopher Jefferies, Yeates' landlord; he was subsequently released and later obtained substantial libel damages from eight newspapers over their coverage of his arrest. Vincent Tabak, a 32-year-old Dutch engineer and neighbour of Yeates, was arrested on 20 January 2011. He was convicted at trial of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. A memorial service was held for Yeates at the parish church in the Bristol suburb where she lived; her funeral took place near the family home in Hampshire. Several memorials were planned, including one in a garden she had been designing for a new hospital in Bristol. (Full article...)

Recently featured: George Formby – 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – Battle of Morotai

September 19

History of a Six Weeks' Tour is a travel narrative by the British Romantic authors Mary Shelley (pictured) and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Published in 1817, it describes two trips taken by Mary, Percy, and Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont: one across Europe in 1814, and one to Lake Geneva in 1816. It consists of a journal, four letters, and Percy Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc". Apart from the poem, the text was primarily written and organised by Mary Shelley. In 1840 she revised the journal and the letters, republishing them in a collection of Percy Shelley's writings. Part of the new genre of the Romantic travel narrative, History of a Six Weeks' Tour exudes spontaneity and enthusiasm; the authors demonstrate their desire to develop a sense of taste and distinguish themselves from those around them. The romantic elements of the work would have hinted at the text's radical politics to 19th-century readers. The text's frank discussion of politics, including positive references to the French Revolution and praise of Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was unusual for a travel narrative at the time. History of a Six Weeks' Tour sold poorly but received favourable reviews. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Murder of Joanna Yeates – George Formby – 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final

September 20

The Great North of Scotland Railway was one of the smaller Scottish railways operating in the far north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers from Kittybrewster, in Aberdeen, to Huntly on 20 September 1854. An early expansion was followed by a period of forced economy, but in the 1880s the railway was refurbished, express services began to run, and a suburban service in Aberdeen started. The railway operated its main line between Aberdeen and Keith and two routes west to Elgin; connections could be made at Keith and Elgin for services to Inverness. Its eventual area encompassed the counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Moray, with short lengths of line in Inverness-shire and Kincardineshire. Fish from the North Sea ports and whisky from Speyside became important goods traffic. The Royal Family used the Deeside Line for travel to and from Balmoral Castle. The railway became the Northern Scottish area of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923, passing on 333+1⁄2 miles (536.7 km) of line and 122 steam locomotives (including No. 49 Gordon Highlander, pictured). Only its main line remains open, as part of the Aberdeen to Inverness Line. (Full article...)

Recently featured: History of a Six Weeks' Tour – Murder of Joanna Yeates – George Formby

September 21

Gustav Holst (1874–1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher, best known for his orchestral suite The Planets. He had originally hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Unable to support himself as a composer, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher. He was musical director at Morley College from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death. He also founded a series of annual Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. As a composer, it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. In his later years his style of composition struck many as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was a significant influence on a number of younger English composers, including Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, since when recordings of much of his output have been available. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Great North of Scotland Railway – History of a Six Weeks' Tour – Murder of Joanna Yeates

September 22

System Shock is a 1994 first-person action role-playing video game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector (pictured) serving as producer. The game is set aboard a space station in a cyberpunk vision of the year 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless hacker, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent artificial intelligence called SHODAN. System Shocks 3D engine, physics simulation and complex gameplay have been cited as both innovative and influential. The developers sought to build on the emergent gameplay and immersive environments of their previous games, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, by streamlining their mechanics into a more "integrated whole". Critics praised System Shock and hailed it as a major breakthrough in its genre. It was later placed on multiple hall of fame lists. The game was a moderate commercial success, with sales exceeding 170,000 copies; but Looking Glass ultimately lost money on the project. A sequel, System Shock 2, was released by Looking Glass Studios and off-shoot developer Irrational Games in 1999. (Full article...)

Part of the Looking Glass Studios video games featured topic.

Recently featured: Gustav Holst – Great North of Scotland Railway – History of a Six Weeks' Tour

September 23

Fluorine is an extremely reactive chemical element with atomic number 9 (pictured in liquid form at a cryogenic temperature). A highly toxic pale yellow gas at standard conditions, it was first described in 1529 as its principal source fluorite, a mineral added as a flux for smelting, and named after the Latin verb fluo meaning "flow". As the lightest halogen and most electronegative element, it is difficult to separate from its compounds, and several early experimenters died or were injured. The process employed for its modern production—low-temperature electrolysis—remains the same as that used by Henri Moissan in 1886 to achieve its first isolation. The high costs of refining fluorine gas lead most commercial uses, such as aluminium refining, insulation and refrigeration, to use its compounds; uranium enrichment is the free element's largest application. Fluorine is a part of some pharmaceuticals and appears as the fluoride ion in toothpaste, but has no known metabolic role in mammals; a few plants possess fluorine-containing poisons to deter herbivores. Fluorocarbon gases are usually potent greenhouse gases and organofluorine compounds persist in the environment. (Full article...)

Recently featured: System Shock – Gustav Holst – Great North of Scotland Railway

September 24

Transandinomys bolivaris, also known as the long-whiskered rice rat, is a rodent in the genus Transandinomys. It is found in humid forest from northeastern Honduras to western Ecuador, up to 1800 m (5900 ft) above sea level. Since it was first described in 1901 from Ecuador, six scientific names have been introduced for it, but their common identity was not documented until 1998 and the species had a number of names until it was moved to the new genus Transandinomys in 2006. It is a medium-sized rice rat and has very long vibrissae (whiskers)—those above the eyes are up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long, making it distinguishable from other similarly sized rice rats. The fur, which is soft and dense, is usually dark brown above and light gray below; it is darker in juveniles. The feet are long and the tail is about as long as the head and body. The skull (pictured from above) is narrow and relatively long, and has a broad interorbital region (between the eyes). The species generally lives on the ground, but some young animals have been taken in vegetation, up to 1.5 m (5 ft) above the ground. Although it is rare, its conservation status is thought to be secure. (Full article...)

Part of the Transandinomys featured topic.

Recently featured: Fluorine – System Shock – Gustav Holst

September 25

The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between Portugal and the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front. It began on September 25, 1964, and ended with a cease fire on September 8, 1974. The war erupted from unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican populations, who perceived foreign rule to be a form of exploitation and resented Portugal's policies towards indigenous people. As successful self-determination movements spread throughout Africa after World War II, many Mozambicans became progressively nationalistic in outlook. For the other side, many enculturated indigenous Africans who were fully integrated into the social organization of Portuguese Mozambique reacted to the independentist claims with discomfort and suspicion. The ethnic Portuguese of the territory, including most of the ruling authorities, responded with increased military presence and fast-paced development projects. The Portuguese regular army held the upper hand during the conflict (propaganda pictured) but Mozambique achieved independence in 1975 after the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, ending 470 years of Portuguese colonial rule in the East African region. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Transandinomys bolivaris – Fluorine – System Shock

September 26

School Rumble is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi. First serialized in 345 chapters in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 2002 and 2008, it is a romance comedy centering on relationships between three Japanese high school students. The series often discards realism in favor of comedic effect. Its popularity resulted in television adaptations, video games, novels and guidebooks. It has also been translated into English and other languages. The manga was well received by Japanese-language readers; the North American English translations were less popular, and ranked 145th for overall manga series sales in 2008. Some critics of the English-language translation praised Kobayashi for his art style and overall use of humor, while others disliked some of the jokes and repetitive plot. The anime adaptation sold well in Japan and was praised by Kobayashi and—for the English-language translation—critics. The decision by Media Factory to aggressively pursue its intellectual property rights for School Rumble is believed by proponents of fansubs to have had a negative impact on the franchise's release and sales in the North American market. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Mozambican War of Independence – Transandinomys bolivaris – Fluorine

September 27

Only 88 people survived the sinking of the SS Arctic on September 27, 1854, out of more than 400 on board. The paddle steamer SS Arctic (pictured), bound for New York, sank off the coast of Newfoundland. When Captain Luce ordered the lifeboats launched, a breakdown in discipline saw the boats swamped by members of the crew and the more able-bodied male passengers; most of the rest went down with the ship, four hours after the collision. All the women and children on board perished. Two of the six lifeboats launched from Arctic reached Newfoundland, and another was picked up by a passing steamer, which also rescued a few survivors from improvised rafts. Among these was Luce, who had regained the surface after initially going down with the ship. The other three lifeboats disappeared without trace. News of Arctic's loss did not reach New York until two weeks after the sinking, when public sorrow quickly turned to anger at the perceived cowardice of the crew. There was no investigation into the disaster, and no one was held legally responsible. Luce, who was generally exonerated from blame, retired from the sea; some of the surviving crew chose not to return to the US. (Full article...)

Recently featured: School Rumble – Mozambican War of Independence – Transandinomys bolivaris

September 28

Derek Jeter (born 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who is playing in his 20th and final season in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as a central figure of the Yankees' success of the late 1990s and early 2000s due to his hitting, baserunning, and fielding abilities, and his leadership as team captain since 2003. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,464), games played (2,746), stolen bases (358), and at bats (11,193). His accolades include fourteen All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits. He holds many postseason records, earning him the nicknames "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November". He has been one of the most heavily marketed athletes of his generation, and his personal life and relationships with celebrities have drawn media attention throughout his career. Teammates and opponents alike regard Jeter as a consummate professional and one of the best players of his generation. (Full article...)

Recently featured: SS Arctic disaster – School Rumble – Mozambican War of Independence

September 29

On 29 September 1940, a mid-air collision occurred over Brocklesby, New South Wales, Australia. Two Avro Ansons of No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAAF were on a cross-country navigational exercise and made a banking turn at an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 metres). Leading Aircraftman Leonard Fuller lost sight of the aircraft below him, and the pair collided, locking together and knocking out the upper Anson's engines. The lower Anson's turret wedged into the other's port wing root, its fin and rudder balancing the upper aircraft's port tailplane. Both navigators and the pilot of the lower Anson bailed out. Fuller found that he was able to control the interlocked aircraft using his ailerons and flaps, together with the still-functioning engines on the machine underneath. After flying for five miles (eight kilometres), he made an emergency landing in a paddock. All four crewmen survived the incident, and the upper Anson was repaired and returned to flight service. The freak accident garnered news coverage around the world and, according to the Greater Hume Shire Council, it remains Brocklesby's "main claim to fame". (Full article...)

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September 30

Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI is a 1984 Indonesian docudrama written and directed by Arifin C. Noer, produced by G. Dwipayana, and starring Amoroso Katamsi, Umar Kayam, and Syubah Asa. Produced over a period of two years with a budget of Rp. 800 million, the film was sponsored by the New Order government under Suharto (pictured). Based on Nugroho Notosusanto's history of the 30 September Movement coup in 1965, It depicts the kidnapping and killings of six generals by the Communist Party of Indonesia and Air Force, as well as Suharto's destruction of the movement. It closes with an urging for the Indonesian populace to fight against all forms of communism. The film was a commercial and critical success: nominated for seven awards at the 1984 Indonesian Film Festival (winning one), it reached record audience numbers – although many viewings were mandatory. It was used as a propaganda vehicle by the New Order government until its collapse, televised annually on 30 September. Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, such use of the film has become less common, and although the film's artistic aspects remain well received, its misrepresentation of history has been criticised. (Full article...)

Recently featured: 1940 Brocklesby mid-air collision – Derek Jeter – SS Arctic disaster