Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-10-15/Featured content
Featured content
Bells ring out at the Temple of the Dragon at Peace
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Bonshō bells, found in Buddhist temples in Japan, are the subject of a new featured article. This bell is from Ryōan-ji, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace, in Kyoto City. -
A new featured picture, showing a performance of Odissi, one of the eight classical dance forms of India. -
United States Secretary of State William H. Seward was noted for his opposition to slavery and his involvement with the Alaska purchase, and is now the subject of a featured article.
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 5 October 2014 through 11 October 2014.
Featured articles
Nine featured articles were promoted this week.
- Caesar Hull (nominated by Cliftonian), a Southern Rhodesian-born flying ace in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
- Future Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories (nominated by Mike Christie), were two American science fiction magazines that were titles under various names between 1939 and 1943 and again from 1950 to 1960.
- Briarcliff Manor, New York (nominated by ɱ), the main article in ɱ's drive to get all 17 Briarcliff Manor related articles to featured article/list status. This article on a suburban village in Westchester County, New York is the first article of the set to reach featured status.
- Fez (video game) (nominated by Czar), a 2012 indie puzzle platform game developed by Polytron Corporation and published by Polytron, Trapdoor, and Microsoft Studios.
- ...And Justice for All (album) (nominated by Retrohead), a album by Metallica released in 1988. As the nominator Retrohead said, "[The album is] a masterwork of technical thrash and musically, one of their finest hours."
- William H. Seward (nominated by Wehwalt), a US Secretary of State, who also served as Governor of New York and United States Senator, and lived from 1801 to 1872. He was a determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War and a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years. He was a leading contender for the party's presidential nomination in 1860, although Abraham Lincoln won the nomination and the election that year.
- Bonshō (nominated by Yunshui), are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, the bells are struck from the outside, using either a hand-held mallet or a beam suspended on ropes. They are typically augmented and ornamented with a variety of bosses, raised bands and inscriptions. The earliest of these bells in Japan date to around 600 CE, although the general design is of much earlier Chinese origin and shares some of the features seen in ancient Chinese bells.
- 1850 Atlantic hurricane season (nominated by Juliancolton), one of many storm-related articles Juliancolton has helped reach featured status; his work on the topic dates back at least to 2008. This article details three significant tropical cyclones which struck areas on the US East Coast, some causing significant damage with high tides, strong winds, and torrential rainfall.
- Keswick, Cumbria (nominated by Tim riley and Dr. Blofeld) Keswick is a small town, known as the capital of the English Lake District. Its history goes back more than 700 years, and its literary associations are remarkable, from the Lake Poets to Hugh Walpole.
Featured pictures
Twenty-six featured pictures were promoted this week.
- Construction of the Monroe Street Bridge (created by W. O. Reed, restored by Lise Broer (Durova), and nominated by G755648) Weird seeing Durova's name crop up in this again. Anyway! The Monroe Street Bridge in Spokane, Washington was built in 1911, and at the time of construction was the largest concrete arch bridge in the United States.
- Odissi performer (created and nominated by Augustus Binu) Odissi is one of the eight classical dance forms of India, and has been reconstructed after having been repressed during the British Raj period. It is marked from other Indian dances through a "three part break": the head, chest and pelvis move independently from each other, as well as various stylized poses and stances.
- Dendrogramma enigmatica (created by Jean Just, Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen and Jørgen Olesen; nominated by Geni) Dendrogramma enigmatica are marine organisms that are roughly mushroom-shaped. The type specimen of Dendrogramma is one of two species in the genus Dendrogramma found in the ocean near Tasmania in 1986. The bizarre organisms may represent a new phylum of animals; such a discovery is an extremely rare event, to say the least. No new specimens have been found since the first expedition, and the formaldehyde-preserved organisms from that expedition are currently the only known examples of the two species, or any other in their genus or family.
- Dome of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine (created and nominated by Muhammad Mahdi Karim) The shrine of Fatima Masumeh is located in Qom which is considered by Shia Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad. Fatima Masumeh was the sister of the eighth Imam, 'Ali al-Rida, and the daughter of the seventh Imam, Musa al-Kadhim. Among the Shias, she is honored as a saint, and her shrine in Qom is considered one of the most significant shrines in Iran. The dome shown in the picture lies immediately above her burial chamber which also includes her three nieces.
- L'Hôtel national des Invalides, Paris (created by DXR, nominated by Tomer T) L'Hôtel national des Invalides (informally, Les Invalides), is a collection of buildings and monuments, all related to the military, including military museums, a military hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.
- The Gleaners (created by Jean-François Millet, nominated by Crisco 1492) One of Jean-François Millet's best-known paintings, it scandalized Parisian society of 1857 by sympathetically portraying the working classes, an uncomfortable reminder of both the French Revolution, and that Parisian society was built on the back of the poor labourers. While shocking at the time, it inspired generations of later artists, and, after the artist's death, grew rapidly in popularity.
- The Balcony (created by Edouard Manet, nominated by Hafspajen) An important and well-known painting, made in 1868 by Édouard Manet, The Balcony (Le balcon) was one of the key works marked the beginning of the impressionism, alongside Manet's other painting The Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, 1863). It is considered innovative and iconic and it went against the conventions of the time.
- Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (created by John Singer Sargent, nominated by SagaciousPhil) John Singer Sergeant's painting Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose (named after a line in a song), shows his friend Fred Barnard's children Dolly and Polly lighting lanterns in the early evening. The carnations, lilies and roses are spreading their scent in the magically illuminated garden in the last rosy rays of the sun. Is it for a garden party? Or just for the fun of lightning up the night garden?
- Girl at Sewing Machine (created by Edward Hopper, nominated by Armbrust) Edward Hopper's 1921 painting, Girl at Sewing Machine, portrays a young girl sitting at a sewing machine in New York City, facing a window on a beautiful sunny day, believed to be a commentary by Hopper on solitude... It is currently housed in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.
- The Fog Warning (created by Winslow Homer, nominated by Hafspajen) Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910) was an original and interesting American painter, best known for his paintings with marine subjects. The Fog Warning illustrates a dramatic moment when the fisherman is fighting to get back to the boat before caught in the fog. He has grabbed the oars and he is on his way towards the ship, to escape from being fogbound. A dangerous situation: a boat lost out in the ocean was doomed.
- The Submission of Prince Dipo Negoro to General De Kock (created by Nicolaas Pieneman, nominated by Crisco 1492) Commissioned by General de Kock himself, The Submission of Prince Dipo Negoro to General De Kock depicts the Javanese leader Diponegoro surrendering at the end of the Java War, but leaves out a few aspects, like him being arrested after being promised safe passage.
- Japanese Invasion currency from the Philippines: One , five, ten, and fifty Philippine centavos from the 1942 series; one, five, and ten Philippine pesos from the 1942 series; one, five, and ten Philippine pesos from the 1943 series; one-hundred and five-hundred Philippine pesos from the 1944 series; and one-thousand Philippine pesos from the 1945 series (created by Empire of Japan, prepared by Godot13 from the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution; also nominated by Godot13) During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the Japanese issued their own printings of the Philippine peso. This money rapidly devalued - hence the ever-larger denominations as the printing run continued - and became known as "Mickey Mouse pesos", with whole bundles of them becoming necessary to buy anything by the end of the war.
- Fez gameplay (created by Polytron Corporation, nominated by czar, who also arranged for its release) We have, of course, already described Fez up in featured articles, but, as pointed out on the nomination page, this illustrates the rotation gameplay element of Fez that would be otherwise exceptionally difficult to describe - but is much easier with the video. Basically, the 3D world is reinterpreted as a 2D-platformer based on the position of the platforms as seen from the current viewpoint.
- Bothriechis schlegelii (created by Geoff Gallice, nominated by Tomer T) Found from southern Mexico to northern South America, the Bothriechis schlegelii has scales over its eyes, whose appearance gives it its common name of the "eyelash viper". It comes in a wide variety of colours, including red, yellow, brown, green, and pink - Catch them all! ...but, er, be careful, they are venomous.
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Dome of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine in Qom -
Discuss this story
Pinging Pine, NickGibson3900, ɱ, Adam Cuerden, Hafspajen, and Muhammad Mahdi Karim: Holy cow! Great work, everyone. I'm very impressed with the work done this week. Thank you very much! Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 06:06, 17 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]