Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-02-06/Featured content
Featured content
Talking architecture with MrPanyGoff
This report covers content promoted from 29 January to 4 February 2012.
This week, the Signpost continues its coverage of editors combating systemic bias by contributing featured content on underrepresented geographical areas. We interview MrPanyGoff, who has contributed eight of twelve featured pictures listed at WikiProject Bulgaria. His main focus is on pictures of buildings (MrPanyGoff's featured picture of the nave of the Hagia Sophia Church in Sofia is displayed above). MrPanyGoff is also an occasional contributor to the Did you know? section of the main page.
"Every village also has structures that should be photographed to complete the collection of knowledge and ideas about the world. So people, give us good photos not only of Manhattan or Paris but also of the Bronx and the small town of Kamnik, Slovenia."
On taking pictures and nominating them as featured picture candidates.
"First of all, you should have an intuition of encyclopedic value. Not every building has it, but at the same time not only cathedrals or palaces are symbols of some particular place. Every village also has structures that should be photographed to complete the collection of knowledge and ideas about the world. One advantage of Wikipedia is the lack of technical and economic constraints. So people, give us good photos not only of Manhattan or Paris but also of the Bronx and the small town of Kamnik, Slovenia.
Of course, there are some technical matters which you should take into consideration. Choosing the time of the day, considering the course of the sun and the crowd, are probably the most important things."
On his interest in photography and architecture:
"I think that if someone knows the language of some of the arts, he understands all the arts. It is one and the same language. A few years ago, I was mostly into the area of art photography. Some of my works were chosen for three or four public exhibitions and then I went back to one of my first passion—encyclopedias. I started writing my first own encyclopedia when I was about 10 years old. So, I would like to take photos of every place in the world as well as to write about these places. At the same time, I've never left the field of the architecture."
On writing about Bulgaria.
"There are almost no sources. It is very difficult. It took me so much time and effort just to find out who is the architect of such a great symbol of Sofia as the building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Actually, I prefer ten "C"-level articles covering the main aspects of the topic than one featured article. Of course, once we cover all the topics with C-level articles then we should going to develop them into a featured ones."
Featured articles
Six featured articles were promoted this week:
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- Baldwin of Forde (nom) by Ealdgyth. Baldwin of Forde became the Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry II of England in 1185. Baldwin quarrelled with his cathedral clergy over the founding of a church, which led to the imprisonment of the clergy in their cloister for more than a year. After the coronation of King Richard I of England, the new king sent Baldwin to the Holy Land in 1190, where he became embroiled in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He died while participating in the Third Crusade.
- Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi (nom) by Sturmvogel 66. First laid down in 1920, and rebuilt from 1935 to 1938, Akagi was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), the second Japanese aircraft carrier and the first large or "fleet" carrier. Akagi figured prominently in IJN's revolutionary carrier striking force doctrine that allowed the concentration of air power, enabling Japan to attain its strategic goals during the first six months of the Pacific War in World War II. She participated in many battles, including the attack on Pearl Harbor and Battle of Rabaul (1942).
- South American dreadnought race (nom) by The ed17. A dreadnought arms race between Argentina, Brazil and Chile (Brazil's Minas Geraes pictured at right) began in 1907 when the Brazilian government announced its intention to purchase three warships of the new "dreadnought" type. This action caused a major stir in international politics and forced Argentina and Chile to reply with their own orders. The race essentially ended with the beginning of the First World War, though Chile reacquired a dreadnought in 1920.
- Nyon Conference (nom) by Grandiose. Held in Nyon, Switzerland, in September 1937, the Nyon Conference was convened to address the problem of submarine attacks on international shipping in the Mediterranean Sea during the Spanish Civil War. The "Mediterranean Agreement"—providing that any submarine that attacked neutral shipping was to be sunk if possible and setting up a system of marine patrols—was signed September 14. A second agreement, signed on September 17, applied similar provisions to surface vessels.
- Russell T Davies OBE (nom) by Sceptre. Stephen Russell Davies (born in 1963), known by his pen name Russell T Davies, is a Welsh television producer and screenwriter whose works include Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose, The Second Coming, Casanova, and the 2005 revival of the classic British science fiction series Doctor Who. Continuing this popular series is considered his most notable achievement.
- Super Meat Boy (nom) by PresN. Super Meat Boy is a 2010 indie video game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes and developed by Team Meat. Beginning development in January 2009, the game was based on the flash game Meat Boy and featured 300 levels where the player must avoid obstacles such as saws and crumbling blocks. The game was critically acclaimed, receiving awards for Best Downloadable Game from GameSpot and GameTrailers and Most Challenging Game from IGN.
Featured lists
Seven featured lists were promoted this week:
- List of ICC Cricket World Cup finals (nom) by The Rambling Man and AroundTheGlobe. The International Cricket Council, an international association cricket competition established in 1975, holds a Cricket World Cup every four years. In the ten tournaments held to date — the most recent in 2011 — a total of nineteen nations have qualified for the finals. Australia is the most successful team in the competition's history, winning four tournaments and finishing as runner-up once, while England is the only nation to have reached a final but never won the competition.
- List of posthumous number ones on the UK Albums Chart (nom) by A Thousand Doors. Nineteen albums by deceased artists have topped the UK Albums Chart since its inception in 1956, starting with Otis Redding's The Dock of the Bay in 1968. Two artists, Elvis Presley and Eva Cassidy, had three posthumous albums reach number one on the charts. The most recent was Amy Winehouse's Lioness: Hidden Treasures in December 2011.
- List of James Bond novels and stories (nom) by Schrodinger's cat. Fictional British superspy James Bond has appeared in 14 novels by his creator, Ian Fleming, as well as another 40 by other authors. The first Bond novel, Casino Royale, was released in 1953; the most recent is 2011's Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver. A series depicting Bond's days at Eton, entitled Young Bond, has also been published.
- List of Philadelphia Phillies owners and executives (nom) by Killervogel5. In the history the Philadelphia Phillies, an American baseball team, there have been 11 general managers (GMs) and 15 team presidents. The team's first owners were Alfred J. Reach and John I. Rogers, who owned the team from 1893 to 1902; the current president is part-owner David P. Montgomery. The team's first GM, Herbert J. Pennock, held office from 1944 to 1948; the current GM is Rubén Amaro, Jr.
- List of Bermuda ODI cricketers (nom) by AssociateAffiliate. Bermuda's One Day Internationals cricket team had 37 players in its three year lifespan, featuring 38 matches. From their first match against Canada in 2006, the team recorded the largest margin of defeat in a World Cup match, losing by 257 runs in a 2007 match against India. Three players held the position of captain.
- Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (nom) by Novice7. The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, established in 1968, awards female artists with "newly recorded solo R&B vocal performances" (winner Natalie Cole pictured at right). The first winner was Aretha Franklin, who went on to win the award eleven times, including eight consecutive wins between 1968 and 1975; Anita Baker has the second most Grammy awards in this category, with five. The most recent winner is Fantasia Barrino with the single "Bittersweet".
- List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champions (nom) by NapHit. The foremost championship of motorcycle road racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racing is held yearly. The rider with the most wins is Italian Giacomo Agostini (right), who won 15 times between 1966 and 1975; Ángel Nieto, with 13 championships, is second, while another three riders have nine championship wins. The country with the most victories is Italy, with 75 wins since the race was established in 1949.
Featured pictures
Ten featured pictures were promoted this week:
- St Jacques La Boucherie Tower (nom; related article), created by Charles Soulier and nominated by Elekhh. The Saint-Jacques Tower, located on the IVe arrondissement of Paris, is all that remains of the Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. The 52-metre (171 ft) tall Flamboyant Gothic tower was kept as a stipulation in the demolition contract after the French Revolution. The new featured picture dates from 1867, after a major renovation.
- Female Black-faced Impala at water hole (nom; related article) by Alchemist-hp. In this close nomination, featured picture candidates participants were torn between the abundance of existing impala pictures and aspects new to this image, including a drinking position and three different views of the animals. Impalas are medium-sized African antelopes that live in the savannas and bushveld in southeast Africa.
- Line drawing of Sukhoi Su-25 (nom; related article), created by Altoing and nominated by Crisco 1492. The Sukhoi Su-25, also known by the NATO reporting name "Frogfoot", is a jet aircraft designed by the Soviet Union and designed to support ground troops. The first Su-25 flew on 22 February 1975. The new featured picture is a line diagram illustrating various parts of the aircraft.
- Pachira aquatica (fruit) (nom), created by Lycaon, nominated by Tomer T, and edited by Muhammad Mahdi Karim. Known in East Asia as the money tree, Pachira aquatica grows up to 18 m (59.1 ft) in height. Its fruit, with the pods shown in the new featured picture, include light brown nuts with white stripes that are said to taste like peanuts.
- IIT Machinery Hall (nom; related article), created by Jovianeye and nominated by TonyTheTiger. The Machinery Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, USA, (the subject of the new featured picture) was designed by C. V. Kerr of Patten & Fisher and built in 1901. Currently housing the Illinois Institute of Technology Facilities offices and storage, in 2004 the building was recognized as a Chicago Landmark.
- Olds Motor Works (nom; related article), published by the Detroit Publishing Co., restored and nominated by Jbarta. The Olds Motor Works, a factory for the Oldsmobile, was the precursor to the Lansing Car Assembly in Lansing, Michigan. Built in 1901, the plant was transferred to General Motors when they bought the company in 1908. This picture dates from before 1920.
- USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (nom; related article), by unknown author and restored by Mmxx. Promoted to replace USSArizona PearlHarbor 2.jpg. Dating from the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, this featured picture shows the destruction of USS Arizona. The Arizona was unable to be raised and 1,177 servicemen died on the ship.
- Northern Carmine Bee-eater (nom; related article), created by Lviatour and nominated by Brandmeister. A near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, the Northern Carmine Bee-eater (right) is native to sub-Saharan Africa. The Bee-eater breeds in large colonies on cliffs and is known for two distinct calls: a deep, throaty "tunk" in flight and a series of "rik" notes when perched. It is classified as being Least Concern.
- Heart diagram (nom; related article) by ZooFari. The new featured diagram (below) provides a lateral section of the human heart. The heart, an organ that provides continuous blood circulation, in humans weighs between 250 and 350 grams and is roughly the size of a fist. It is divided into four chambers, two superior atria for receiving and two inferior ventricles for discharge.
- Treskilling Yellow (nom; related article), created by P.A. Sparre and nominated by Spongie555. The Treskilling Yellow, a Swedish three skilling stamp produced in 1855, is the most expensive postage stamp in existence. Known from a single stamp that is coloured yellow instead of the standard blue-green, the Treskilling Yellow was possibly produced when a cliché for the yellow eight skilling stamp was mistakenly replaced with a three skilling plate. In 1996, it sold for USD 2,060,000; a 2010 sale is thought to have fetched a similar price.
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