User:Lx 121/WikiMediaWatch/(v.i) 05.2009

WikiMediaWatch (v.i) 05.2009

Wittig (& Friends)'s Magazine/Wiki/Blog of WikiMedia

WELCOME!

Got any ideas, suggestions, opinions, comments and/or criticism? The talkpage is open...

Want to join this project, or become a contributor? Contact me. :)

Want to join Wikipedia & become a registered user/editor? Click the link at the top right, where it says "Log in/create account" (assuming you aren't already registered user, who is currently logged in, in which case the link will not be there). :P

Feeling creative? Join the Artist's Working Group on Wikimedia Commons.

=MAY 2009=

WikiMediaCommons Picture of the Year, 2008
The official announcement of the final results is still pending... is up on the results page for round 2; subject to possible further minor adjustments if anymore of the outstanding IP votes are confirmed...

Commons:Commons:Picture of the Year/2008/Finalists

The WMC vote count/confirmation working page

Commons:Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2008/UNOFFICIAL_RESULTS_VOTE_TRACKER

Update: The POTY2009 vote processing working group has now posted a results page (still under construction) :

Commons:Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2008/Results/Round_2/List

Total number of votes in round 2, at the close of voting (Midnight, 30 April-1 May 2009): 734 (unconfirmed) votes

The Top 10 (current ranking as of 2009/05/18)

(more... )

Ty's (Animal Kingdom) Pick/Link of the Month


Candiru

The penis fish! ^__^

‎Candiru (English and Portuguese) or candirú (Spanish), also known as canero or toothpick fish, are parasitic freshwater catfish of a number of genera in the family Trichomycteridae. They are found in the Amazon River and have a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over piranha. They are eel-shaped and translucent, making them almost impossible to see in the water. Some species have been known to grow to a size of 6 inches (~15 cm) in length.

The definition of candiru differs between authors. The word has been used to refer to:
 * Vandellia cirrhosa;
 * the entire genus Vandellia;
 * the subfamily Vandelliinae; and
 * the two subfamilies Vandelliinae and Stegophilinae.

(read more... )

Writing System
Shavian alphabet & Quickscript

Cool Toy


Great Turkish Bombard

The Great Turkish Bombard, Şahi in Turkish, also known as the Hungarian Cannon, Basilic, the Dardanelles Gun, Muhammed's Great Gun and The Royal Gun was a 15th century siege cannon; it was the first supergun in the world, and it saw action in the Fall of Constantinople and the Dardanelles Operation.

(read the article... )

Music
Eurovision_Song_Contest_2009

Archaeology/Art
thumb|right|300px|Venus of Hohle Fels (true height 6 cm), image copyright ©  H. Jensen / Tübingen University

Venus_of_Hohle_Fels

The Venus of Hohle Fels (also known as the Venus of Schelklingen; in German variously Venus vom Hohlen Fels, vom Hohle Fels; Venus von Schelklingen) is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine found near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, at the very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, which is associated with the earliest presence of Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon) in Europe. It is the oldest undisputed example of Upper Paleolithic art and figurative prehistoric art in general.

read more... )

Current Big Project (unintentional)


Rhyolite, Nevada

Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 mi northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern edge of Death Valley. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners, and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region's biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine.

(read more... )

I started out just wanting to add some photos by TahoeNathan, then I got into re-arranging the photo-layout, then I started researching: a) whether the caboose & storage tank pictured are the remains of the gas station mentioned in the article or not, & b) maps of the place; found the maps, no luck on the gas station info, but in the course of looking, i found a bunch of old pictures of rhyolite, many of them U.S. public domain/pre-1923, so now i'm uploading those & trying to figure out how to fot them in; & there are parts of the text that I'm not really happy with, & possibly more information to add, or maybe separate pages for some Rhyolite-related articles... >__<

Anniversay of Historic Event
End_of_World_War_II_in_Europe

Celebration
Cinco_de_mayo

Science Fiction
Star_Trek_(film) (2009)

Listen to this Music:
The_Four_Seasons_(Vivaldi) (it starts with spring)

Read this Book:
Tales_of_the_Jazz_Age

Cool/Useful Tool
[Wikimedia Pages' Traffic Stats]: A handy way to check the amount of traffic a WM page gets per day; could be improved, does not cover all WM projects (as of this time).

Artists I'm working with:
Artist's Working Group

Commons:User:Tahoenathan

Hi I'm Nathan, I was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, Nv/Ca; I've been practicing photography for over 6 years and all my work is done with a 35mm Cannon Rebel and all editing is basic and practical in a darkroom, for more of my work, check out my DeviantArt account: [burnintree].