Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 August 13

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From today's featured article

Barton Fink is a 1991 American film, written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers (pictured). Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a movie studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie, the insurance salesman who lives next door at the run-down Hotel Earle. The Coens wrote the screenplay in three weeks while experiencing difficulty during the writing of another film, Miller's Crossing. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1991, Barton Fink won the Palme d'Or, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor (Turturro). Although it was celebrated almost universally by critics and nominated for three Academy Awards, the movie grossed only $6,000,000 at the box office, two-thirds of its estimated budget. The process of writing and the culture of entertainment production are two prominent themes of Barton Fink. The worlds of Hollywood and Broadway are contrasted, and the film analyzes superficial distinctions between high and low culture. Barton Fink has defied efforts at genre classification. It has been variously referred to as a film noir, a horror film, a Künstlerroman, and a buddy film. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that Rapa Nui National Park is home to dozens of moai statues (pictured) attributed to the Rapa Nui people who inhabited Easter Island around AD 300?

... that at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, Germany's Heinrich Popow and Australia's Scott Reardon were both awarded a gold medal after a dead heat in the T42 100 metre final?

... that Typhleotris mararybe is the world's only cave fish that is both blind and darkly pigmented?

... that magic realist painter Lodewijk Bruckman has a permanent exhibition in Museum de Oude Wolden, located in Bellingwolde, the Netherlands?

... that Chip Ganassi Racing's 1–2–3 finish at the 2013 Pocono IndyCar 400 was the first time a team swept the podium at a Triple Crown race since 1979?

... that fifty-year-old band the Bintangs have been described as "the most underrated live band from the Netherlands"?

... that in the science fiction film I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I., aliens, criminals, and a reptilian monster attempt world domination?

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In the news

Mob boss Whitey Bulger (pictured) is convicted of racketeering after sixteen years on the run.

INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier to be built in India, is launched at Cochin Shipyard.

American golfer Jason Dufner wins the PGA Championship.

More than 160 people are killed in flash floods across Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos announces the purchase of The Washington Post for US$250 million.

Major League Baseball announces the suspension of thirteen players, pending appeal, for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Enele Sopoaga is elected Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

Recent deaths: Karen Black

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On this day...

August 13: Qixi Festival in the Chinese calendar (2013)

1521 – After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough (pictured) led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.

1898 – Spanish–American War: After a mock battle for Manila, the Spanish commander surrendered to the U.S. in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.

1954 – The complete version of "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan, was broadcast for the first time on Radio Pakistan.

2010 – After having been boarded by Canadian authorities, the MV Sun Sea docked and the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee claimants on board were placed into detention.

More anniversaries: August 12 – August 13 – August 14

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Today's featured picture

The Hall of Mirrors is the central gallery of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. Construction of the room began in 1678, lasting until 1684. It has since been used for various state functions, including the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Photograph: Myrabella

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