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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 2 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 2: Film noir

115px|Two silhouetted figures in The Big Combo. The film's 
cinematographer was John Alton, the creator of many of film noir's 
iconic images.

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish 
Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical 
attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period 
is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 
1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key 
black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist 
cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the 
attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime 
fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression. Film 
noir encompasses a range of plots. Though the noir mode was originally 
identified with American productions, films now customarily described 
as noir have been made around the world. Many pictures released from 
the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic 
period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. 
Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as 
neo-noirs. The tropes of film noir have inspired parody since the 
mid-1940s. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 3 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 3: 1941 Florida hurricane

120px|Daily weather map from October 6, 1941, depicting a hurricane 
nearing the southeast Florida coast

The 1941 Florida hurricane was a strong tropical cyclone that 
affected the Bahamas, Florida, and the southeastern United States in 
October 1941. The fifth known storm of the 1941 Atlantic hurricane 
season, it was first observed to the north of the Virgin Islands on 
October 3. The storm tracked generally westward through the Bahamas, 
reaching peak winds of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h). After moving 
across southern Florida the hurricane emerged into the Gulf of Mexico 
and made another landfall along the Florida Panhandle. Turning 
northeast, it crossed Georgia and South Carolina, and entered the 
Atlantic Ocean on October 8. In the Bahamas, where winds reached 104 
miles per hour (167 km/h), the storm killed three people. The city of 
Nassau was struck particularly hard. In Florida, damage was relatively 
severe, and included the deaths of several people. High winds brought 
down trees and powerlines, though the storm was characterized by highly 
unusual rainfall patterns. Storm surge in the Everglades region flooded 
local streets. As the storm progressed northward, the city of 
Tallahassee suffered widespread power outages and damage to numerous 
vehicles. Throughout the state, the hurricane inflicted $675,000 
(1941 USD) in damages. The cyclone later killed one person in Georgia. 
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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 4 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 4: 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final

125px|Sounders FC players lift the 2009 and 2010 U.S. Open Cup trophies 
after repeating as champions by winning the 2010 final.

The 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on October 5, 
2010, at Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field) in Seattle, Washington. 
The match determined the winner of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a 
tournament open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated 
with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 97th edition of 
the oldest competition in United States soccer. Seattle Sounders FC won 
the match, defeating the Columbus Crew 2–1. The final drew an 
attendance of 31,311, surpassing the 81-year-old record for the event. 
Sounders FC became the first team since 1983 to win two consecutive 
U.S. Open Cup championships and the first Major League Soccer club to 
ever do so. As a result of its U.S. Open Cup championship, Seattle 
earned a berth in the preliminary round of the 2011–12 CONCACAF 
Champions League, as well as a $100,000 cash prize. The Crew received 
the runner-up prize of $50,000. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 5 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 5: The Author's Farce

100px|Title page from The Author's Farce

The Author's Farce is a play by the English playwright and novelist 
Henry Fielding, first performed on 30 March 1730 at the Little Theatre, 
Haymarket. Written in response to the Theatre Royal's rejection of his 
earlier plays, The Author's Farce was Fielding's first theatrical 
success. The first and second acts deal with the attempts of the 
central character, Harry Luckless, to woo his landlady's daughter, and 
his efforts to make money by writing plays. In the second act, he 
finishes a puppet theatre play titled The Pleasures of the Town, about 
the Goddess Nonsense's choice of a husband from allegorical 
representatives of theatre and other literary genres. After its 
rejection by one theatre, Luckless's play is staged at another. The 
third act becomes a play within a play, in which the characters in the 
puppet play are portrayed by humans. The Author's Farce ends with a 
merging of the play's and the puppet show's realities. The play 
established Fielding as a popular London playwright, and the press 
reported that seats were in great demand. Although largely ignored by 
critics until the 20th century, most agree that the play is primarily a 
commentary on events in Fielding's life, signalling his transition from 
older forms of comedy to the new satire of his contemporaries. 
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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 6 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 6: Telopea speciosissima

110px|Telopea speciosissima

Telopea speciosissima is a large shrub in the Proteaceae family. 
Endemic to New South Wales, it is the floral emblem of that state. 
T. speciosissima grows as a shrub to 3 or 4 m (10–13 ft) high and 2 m 
(7 ft) wide, with dark green leaves and several stems rising from a 
pronounced woody base known as a lignotuber. It is most renowned for 
its striking large red inflorescences (flowerheads) in spring, each 
made up of hundreds of individual flowers. These are visited by the 
eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), birds such as honeyeaters 
(Meliphagidae), and insects. Telopea speciosissima has featured 
prominently in art, architecture and advertising, particularly since 
federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it 
is also cultivated in the home garden, although it requires good 
drainage, yet adequate moisture, and is vulnerable to fungal disease 
and pests. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 7 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 7: Just Like Heaven (song)

80px|The Cure

"Just Like Heaven" is a song by the British alternative rock band The 
Cure. The group wrote most of the song during recording sessions in 
southern France in 1987. The lyrics were written by the band's frontman 
Robert Smith (pictured), who drew inspiration from a past trip to the 
sea shore with his future wife. Before Smith had completed the lyrics, 
an instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the 
French television show Les Enfants du Rock. "Just Like Heaven" was the 
third single released from the band's 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss 
Me, while Smith's memories of the trip formed the basis for the song's 
accompanying music video. The song became The Cure's first American hit 
and in 1988 reached number 40 on the Billboard charts. It has been 
highly praised by critics and covered by artists such as Dinosaur Jr. 
and Katie Melua. Smith has said he considers "Just Like Heaven" to be 
one of the band's strongest songs. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 8 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 8: Triton (moon)

110px|Triton

Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on 
October 10, 1846, by William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the 
Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite 
direction to its planet's rotation. At 2700 km in diameter, it is the 
seventh-largest moon in the Solar System. Because of its retrograde 
orbit and composition similar to Pluto's, Triton is thought to have 
been captured from the Kuiper belt. Triton consists of a crust of 
frozen nitrogen over an icy mantle believed to cover a substantial core 
of rock and metal. The core makes up two-thirds of its total mass. 
Triton has a mean density of 2.061 g/cm3 and is composed of 
approximately 15–35% water ice. Triton is one of the few moons in the 
Solar System known to be geologically active. As a consequence, its 
surface is relatively young, with a complex geological history revealed 
in intricate and mysterious cryovolcanic and tectonic terrains. Part of 
its crust is dotted with geysers believed to erupt nitrogen. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 9 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 9: Waddesdon Road railway station

Waddesdon Road railway station was a small halt in open countryside in 
Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short 
horse-drawn tramway to assist with the transport of goods from and 
around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire 
and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham 
Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the line was expanded and converted 
for passenger use, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899 the 
operation of the line was taken over by the London-based Metropolitan 
Railway. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public 
ownership to become the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, 
and despite its rural setting Waddesdon Road station became a part of 
the London Transport system. The new management could not see a future 
for the line as a financially viable passenger route, and Waddesdon 
Road, along with the rest of the former Brill Tramway, was closed in 
late 1935. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 10 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 10: Fridtjof Nansen

85px

Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, 
diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel laureate. After studies in zoology at 
the University of Christiania, his research on the central nervous 
system of lower marine creatures helped to establish modern theories of 
neurology. As an explorer, in 1888 Nansen led the first successful 
crossing of the Greenland interior, and later won international fame 
after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14' during his North 
Pole expedition of 1893–96. After 1896 his main scientific interest 
switched to oceanography and he contributed significantly to the 
development of modern oceanographic techniques and equipment. In 1905 
Nansen was instrumental in persuading Prince Charles of Denmark to 
accept the throne of the newly independent Norway, and later served as 
the Norwegian representative in London. In 1922 he was awarded the 
Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the League of Nations on behalf of 
the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts. 
After his death the League established the Nansen International Office 
for Refugees to ensure that his work continued. His name is 
commemorated in numerous geographical features, particularly in the 
polar regions. (more...)

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English Wikipedia Article of the Day | 11 Oct 2011 02:05
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[Daily article] October 11: Battle of Valcour Island

120px|The Battle of Valcour Island

The naval Battle of Valcour Island took place on October 11, 1776, on 
Lake Champlain. The battle is generally regarded as one of the first 
naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the first 
fought by the United States Navy. The Continental Army had retreated 
from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in June 1776 after 
British forces were massively reinforced. They spent the summer of 1776 
fortifying those forts, and building additional ships to augment the 
small American fleet already on the lake. British General Guy Carleton 
had a 9,000-man army at Fort Saint-Jean, but needed to build a fleet to 
carry it on the lake. By early October, the British fleet, which 
significantly outgunned the American fleet, was ready for launch. On 
October 11, Arnold drew the British fleet to the strait between Valcour 
Island and the western shore, a position he had carefully chosen to 
limit British advantages. In the battle that followed, many of the 
American ships were damaged or destroyed. That night, Arnold snuck the 
American fleet past the British one, beginning a retreat toward Crown 
Point and Ticonderoga. Unfavorable weather hampered the American 
retreat, and more of the fleet was either captured or grounded and 
burned before it could reach Crown Point. Upon reaching Crown Point 
Arnold had the fort's buildings burned and retreated to Ticonderoga. 
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