Featured content
Pyrénées, Playmates, parliament and a prison...
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 21 to 27 June 2015.
Featured articles
Twelve Featured articles were promoted this week.
- 2012 Budweiser Shootout (nominated by Z105space) The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was an 82-lap stock-car race, held at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. The Shootout is an annual race, created by a Busch Beer brand manager in 1979 and called the "Busch Clash". Its name was changed to "Bud Shootout" and then "Budweiser Shootout" to promote a beer called "Budweiser". The race was won by Kyle Busch, whose elder brother Kurt was the defending champion. Kyle won by 0.013 of a second, the closest margin in the history of the race.
- Burning of Parliament (nominated by SchroCat) The original Houses of Parliament were situated in a medieval warren of a building, originally a royal palace for English kings. The chamber for the House of Lords was heated by hot air and gases from two coal-fired furnaces; these were connected to two copper-lined flues running under the floor. The annual cleaning of clinker from these flues was carried out by small boys, who cut footholds in the copper exposing the wood underneath. On a day in October 1834, when the boys hadn't been up for nearly a year and the flues were full of clinker, the Clerk of Works was instructed to dispose of two cart-loads of wooden tally sticks. These were fed into the furnaces starting at 6 in the morning; by 4 pm when the last sticks had been put in and the stokers had retired to the pub the Lords' Chamber was full of smoke. At 6 it flashed over into a fireball and then the Houses burnt down, the fire being viewed with equanimity by an unusually well-behaved crowd.
- Denbies (nominated by Sagaciousphil and Eric Corbett) Denbies is named after John Denby, a sixteenth-century farmer whose land formed the nucleus of the estate. It was sold to Jonathan Tyers, the owner of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, in 1734. He established a "Valley of the Shadow of Death" in eight acres of the grounds, with macabre sculptures, paintings and a clock that chimed every minute, which reminded the auditor that time was fleeting. Bong. After Tyer's death the grounds were cleared of momento mori and extensively remodelled. In 1850 the estate was purchased by the wealthy builder Thomas Cubitt. He built a large mansion, with nearly one hundred rooms, and had the access roads improved and parts of the estate planted with trees. Denbies passed to his son, with a further 2,000 acres added to the land. Cubitt's grandson inherited the estate in 1917, but the estate became financially unsustainable, and was gradually sold off. Cubitt's mansion was cleared and demolished in the 1950s. Further tranches of the estate were acquired by the government in lieu of taxes, and were passed on to the National Trust. The final privately-owned remnant of the estate was purchased by a water treatment company in the 1980s, and a vineyard was established on a south-facing slope.
- Elliott Fitch Shepard (nominated by ɱ) If you want a good start in life, make sure your father is president of a company that prints bank notes. That's what Elliott Fitch Shepard did, and that's why he was able, at the age of 29, to raise and equip two regiments for the Union army. Described as "rigid and moralizing", he practiced as a lawyer while acquiring banks and newspapers on the side. Shepard was deeply religious- he instructed his editors to head their editorials with Bible quotations, and he purchased a stagecoach company so he could stop its operations on Sundays. He was also a stern opponent of antisemitism, supporting efforts to publicize the persecution of Russian Jews and speaking at Jewish meetings.
- Mutiny on the Bounty (nominated by Brianboulton and Cliftonian) The "Mutiny on the Bounty", details how, upon the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty, members of the crew seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh and set him and 18 others adrift in Bounty 's open launch. This is one of the most well known historic naval events from the early days of the royal British Navy and well worth reading, again as this promotion to Featured Article status provides you with the invitation (make your history teacher proud too).......
- Operation Goodwood (naval) (nominated by Nick-D) Operation Goodwood was a series of attacks by British carrier-borne aircraft on the German battleship Tirpitz during August 1944. The raids failed to cause any significant damage, only two bombs hitting the ship. Goodwood was a failure for the Fleet Air Arm as the aircraft used (principally Barracudas) could not carry bombs large enough. On 15 September a raid by Avro Lancasters flying from land bases in Russia caused heavy damage to Tirpitz, and the ship was finally capsized in November using massive Tallboy bombs.
- P. G. Wodehouse (nominated by SchroCat and Tim riley) “Jeeves” I said “that Peregrine Grenville Wodehouse chappy has had one of those blighted Featured Articles written about him.” “Indeed, sir” he said “I do hear that that is quite the thing nowadays among the younger generation.” “But I say, Jeeves, chap’s been dead for forty years. And he was pally with Lord Hawthorn or Haw Belisha or whatever that bally Nazi Irishman was called.” "I do believe, sir, that you are referring to Lord Haw Haw. A most terribly dull person if you don’t mind me saying, sir. I am given to understand that Sir Pelham hardly knew the chap.” “That’s totally beside the point, Jeeves!” I expostulated angrily “He damn well made me out to be some kind of confounded fool. And now I’ve got this shrew cat and some dashed editor called lower-case riley- all totally pseudonom-whatsit of course- making him out to be some kind of major literary figure. Writer. Novelist. Whatever. Get me that Mr W. chappy on the blower, Jeeves, I am going to give him a piece of my mind. And it will not be pretty, I tell you. No, no, no, Jeeves. When a man’s reputation is at stake a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” “Very good sir, I shall endeavour to raise Mr W. on the telephone.” Ring, ring. "Mr W.'s residence. Eric the butler speaking. How may I help you?"
- Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball (nominated by Iridescent) William Etty was an English artist of the early 19th century. He moved from his birthplace of York to London with the intention of becoming a history painter. Etty's skill in painting flesh was acclaimed by the critics; this led him to specialise in nudes, the first painter in Britain to do so. The nakedness was acceptable as it was set in a mythological or historical narrative, but campaigning by journalists against Etty's nudes caused him to consciously introduce moral lessons into his art. Further criticism came his way when he began to be commissioned to paint portraits- it was feared Etty was abandoning the high ground of history painting for the lucrative pastures of portrait painting. Portraits were guaranteed income, history paintings not so much, so we doubt if Etty took much persuading to paint the Williams-Wynn sisters getting ready for a fancy-dress ball.
- R. V. C. Bodley (nominated by Freikorp) How long would it take you to tell someone that they're a moron and a traitor, and should go and live with the Arabs? Lawrence of Arabia took 200 seconds to tell R. V. C. Bodley that, and it changed Bodley's life. He moved to the Sahara, where he spent seven years living with a Bedouin tribe. Bodley had joined the British army in 1911; he served in India where he wrote and staged plays in his off-duty hours. He spent four years on the Western Front, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in command of a battalion. It was outside the Paris Peace Conference that Bodley met Lawrence, having been previously introduced to him by Gertrude Bell. Following his desert sojourn Bodley wrote a book about his experiences, and a couple of novels. Moving east he worked as a foreign correspondent for a couple of newspapers, reporting on Japanese activities in the South Pacific, before moving in 1935 to the USA to work as a screenwriter. He was hired by Chaplin to adapt a novel called Regency by D. L. Murray; the adaptation was abandoned after Bodley had completed the script. He rejoined the army on the outbreak of war; too old to be a footsoldier, he worked for the Ministry of Information in Paris. Bodley remained in Paris after the Germans arrived, until the Gestapo took an interest in him. He escaped over the Pyrenees, and returned to the US. He was married and divorced three times. Bodley died in 1970.
- Scientific Detective Monthly (nominated by Mike Christie) Scientific Detective Monthly was a magazine of the pulp variety, published from January 1930 in fifteen issues by Hugo Gernsback. Various writers contributed detective stories in which "science" played a role, either in facilitating or solving a crime. Gernsback had the idea that the word "Scientific" put off readers; the title was changed to Amazing Detective Tales with the June 1930 issue. Only a few of the tales had science fiction elements. A criminal uses a matter duplicator to produce perfect counterfeits, a murder victim is hidden in the fourth dimension, a worldwide secret organisation uses powerful electronic devices to create an online encyclo… hang on, something wrong here. Gernsback wasn't really interested in the fiction part of the science- he was more of a gadget and practical science man, and the magazine contained fillers and questionnaires on real-life scientific advances mentioned in the articles. Eventually Gernsback sold the title to another publisher, who turned it into a straightforward detective magazine- it folded after five issues.
- The Playboy (nominated by Curly Turkey) The Playboy by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, serialized in 1990 in Brown's comic book Yummy Fur and collected in different revised book editions in 1992 and 2013. The teenage protagonist is urged by a small winged companion to purchase copies of Playboy magazine. He studies the Playmates obsessively, and becomes trapped in a cycle of masturbation and guilt. Like much of his other work, The Playboy is autobiographical, attempting to show Brown's confusion and anxiety over his sexual urges, and the way in which his obsessiveness distorts his relationships with women. It, and the sequel I Never Liked You, are regarded as among the best of graphic novels.
- Waddesdon Bequest (nominated by Johnbod) The Waddesdon Bequest is a collection of nearly 300 objects assembled by Baron Anselm von Rothschild and his son, Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, and intended as a decorative feature of the New Smoking Room at Waddesdon Manor. They were bequeathed by Ferdinand to the British Museum in 1898. Most of the objects are heavily decorated pieces from late Renaissance Europe in gold and silver, collected at a time when such objects were sold for little more than their scrap value. The Holy Thorn Reliquary, commissioned in the 1390s by the Duc de Berry, is regarded as the most important object in the collection, being a supreme example of the work of Parisian goldsmiths. A foot high and weighing over 3 pounds, it has 28 small figures surrounding a scene of the Last Judgement and the resurrection of the dead. It was made to house a single thorn from a crown of thorns purchased in Constantinople in 1239. Before it was purchased by the Rothschilds, it was in the ownership of the Habsburg emperors. An art dealer to whom it had been sent for restoration had a number of copies made, of which one was sent back to the emperor. The provenance of the original was unknown to the Rothschilds, and it was regarded as a later Spanish confection; it wasn't until 1959 that a close comparison of the Vienna copy and the smoking-room original established beyond doubt the origin of the piece.
Featured lists
Two Featured lists were promoted this week.
- List of India cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut (nominated by Lugnuts and Vensatry) Have you ever had a real Five-wicket haul? Well a five-wicket haul in cricket is regarded by critics as a notable achievement and here we have a wonderful list of noteworthy India cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut, eight of them in all.
- Mac DeMarco discography (nominated by Littlecarmen)The Canadian singer-songwriter has released three studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, four extended plays (EPs), three singles, and twelve music videos. Check it out!
Featured pictures
Fifteen Featured pictures were promoted this week.
- Alessandro Martinelli (created by Matteo Brama; nominated by Chris Woodrich) Alessandro Martinelli is a Swiss soccer player who plays for the Italian soccer club Modena, and also the Swiss national soccer team. In this photo he is going to kick the soccer ball towards the goal of the Ternana team. Definitely Matteo Brama has captured the moment here, and Alessandro really looks like he is concentrating on kicking at the goal.
- Modular origami (created by Jacek Halicki; nominated by Chris Woodrich) Modular origami is a paperfolding technique which uses two or more sheets of paper to create a larger complex structure than would be possible using single-piece origami techniques. It is safe to say that Jacek Halicki has done that here. From the history of this file, he seems to have spent most of 2014 doing it. This file was a finalist in the 2014 Picture of the Year contest and is a featured picture on Wikimedia Commons. The photo has been used in thirteen global project pages and is right at home here in the Featured Photo section.
- Flyght in Egypt (created by y Gentile da Fabriano; nominated by PetarM) Shot with the Olympus PEN E-PL5 Micro Four Thirds camera, photographer Petar Milosevic has captured a wonderful image of the Gentile da Fabriano's Flyght in Egypt, on display in Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
- Cirque de Gavarnie (created by Benh; nominated by Pine) Located within the commune of Gavarnie, the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Pyrenees National Park, France, the Cirque de Gavarnie is an amphitheatre-like valley head, formed at the head of the valley glacier by erosion. Looks like a great place for a concert.
- Fremantle Prison (created by Iwelam; nominated by Gnangarra) This photo of the Fremantle Prison, also known as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, was taken in 1971. Fremantle was built as a prison for convicts, by convicts, in 1851 and 1859. Punishments varied, with good old flogging and the traditional favorite time in irons being some of the more popular methods used over the years, it does not look like a fun place to spend your time, in or out of "irons". It was closed in 1991.
- Giovanna d'Arco (created by Luigi Barinetti; restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) This graphic, originally scanned from the title page of a 1846 volume at the Harvard Library, is from the publication of the score of Giovanna d'Arco ("Joan of Arc"), an operatic dramma lirico by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera with a prologue and three acts. The original Giovanna was Erminia Frezzolini. Hats off to Adam Cuerden for his efforts creating this fine restoration. Viva Verdi!
- Les Troyens set: Les Troyens, Part I: La Prise de Troie and Part II: Les Troyens á Carthage (created by Antoine Barbizet; restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) A wonderfully restored set of three posters from Les Troyens ("The Trojans") the French, five act, grand opera by Hector Berlioz with the libretto also written by Berlioz from Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid. Les Troyens is said to be Berlioz's most ambitious work, the summation of his entire artistic career, but he did not live to see it performed in its entirety. This set of wonderfully restored posters was retouched with great care and attention to detail.
- Jaffa Clock Tower (created and nominated by Godot13) Wonderful photo shot on the Leaf Aptus-II 12 camera of the Jaffa Clock Tower, constructed between 1900 and 1903 during the Ottoman period at the northern entrance of Jaffa, the ancient city that is now a part of the greater Tel Aviv. It was built to commemorate the silver jubilee of the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid II the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
- Italian scudo (created by the Papal mint; nominated by Godot13) Short and Sweet: Pietro Vito Ottoboni was Pope Alexander VIII for only about 15 months before his death, but he still managed to have this coin minted in his honor in 1689. This photo is an example of a very rare coin in high condition. Pope Alexander VIII was featured on the front of the valuable gold piece and the Saints Peter and Paul on the reverse. Engraved by Antonio Travani, a goldsmith and medalist in Rome, today the coin is worth a pretty penny, to say the least...
- King's College London Chapel: Interior of the chapel and chapel and organ (created and nominated by Diliff) There is no question that David Iliff is a exceptional photographer, as he demonstrates here once again with this fine set of high quality and high resolution shots of this remarkable facility. It was designed by Sir Robert Smirke and completed in 1831 as part of the College building (later known as the King's building).
- Comb (created and nominated by Chris Woodrich) The classic use of plastic: a comb. Chris took this shot with the Canon EOS 60D @F9 & a exposure time of 1/5 sec (0.2) with a EF100mm f/2.8L Macro lens. Combs are among the oldest tools, having been discovered in settlements dating back to 5,000 years ago in Persia. Combs have be made out of a number of materials, most commonly plastic, but also metal, cotton material, or wood.
- Natalya Naryshkina (created by unknown author; nominated by Chris Woodrich) Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the "Tsarina" or female autocratic ruler of Russia in 1671–1676. She experienced a more Western-influenced upbringing than most Russian women of the time. Widowed in 1676; a son from the Tsar's previous marriage ascended the throne, with Natalya ending up living in poverty, and receiving financial support from others.
Excuse me mister, can you spare an 1689-I Quadrupla Scudo d'Oro?
The Classic Plastic Comb approved for prison issue
8 July 2015 (all comments)
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