Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-08-13/Featured content

This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 3 August through 9 August 2014. Descriptions for the articles borrow shamelessly from the article's text.

Featured articles
Eight featured articles were promoted this week. We're holding one back until next week, though, for sufficiently awesome reasons.
 * Canis Major (nominated by Cas Liber) is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included in Ptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog". The Milky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders.
 * U.S. Route 141 (nominated by Imzadi1979) runs north-northwesterly from an interchange with Interstate 43 (I-43) in Bellevue, Wisconsin, near Green Bay, to a junction with US 41/M-28 near Covington, Michigan. Since the 1960s, the section south of Green Bay has been converted into a freeway in segments.
 * The Battle of Öland (nominated by Peter Isotalo) was a 1676 naval battle between an allied Danish-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy during the Scanian War (1675–79), fought for supremacy over the southern Baltic. Sweden was in urgent need of reinforcements for its north German possessions; Denmark sought to ferry an army to Scania in southern Sweden to open a front on Swedish soil. Just as the battle began, the Swedish flagship Kronan sank, and soon, the rest of the Swedish fleet fled in disorder. The battle resulted in Danish naval supremacy, then and throughout the war.
 * Sesame Street international co-productions (nominated by Figureskatingfan) are educational children's television series based on the American Sesame Street that contain original sets, characters, and curriculum goals tailored to the countries in which they are produced. By the US show's 40th anniversary in 2009, they were seen in more than 140 countries.
 * Kangana Ranaut (nominated by AB01 & Krimuk90) is an Indian film actress who is the recipient of a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards. After receiving recognition for her performance in her feature film debut—the 2006 thriller Gangster, she earned critical acclaim for her roles in Fashion (2008) and Tanu Weds Manu (2011). She also appeared in commercially successful productions like Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) and Krrish 3 (2013; one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time). Ranaut established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema after playing the protagonist of the comedy-drama Queen (2014).
 * In the 1940 Brocklesby mid-air collision, (nominated by Ian Rose) two Australian military aircraft remained locked together after colliding. Both navigators and the pilot of the lower aircraft bailed out to safety after the aircraft struck. The pilot of the upper aircraft found that he was able to control the interlocked aircraft using his ailerons and flaps, together with the still-functioning engines on the machine underneath. He survived an emergency landing in a nearby paddock.
 * John Hay (nominated by Wehwalt) (1838–1905) was an American statesman and official. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was also an author and biographer, and wrote poetry and other literature through much of his life.

Featured lists
Six featured lists were promoted this week.
 * List of Pakistan Test cricketers who have taken five wickets on debut (nominated by Lugnuts & Zia Khan) Given the title, this is relatively self-explanatory. 141 cricket players have taken five wickets or more in their first Test match; ten were Pakistani.
 * List of accolades received by Frozen (2013 film) (nominated by ALittleQuenhi & Cowlibob) Frozen is a 3D computer-animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film grossed a worldwide total of over $1.26 billion and is the highest grossing animated film of all time. Amongst the many accolades it received, listed here, it became the first film by Walt Disney Animated Studios to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
 * List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Harbhajan Singh (nominated by Vibhijain & Vensatry) Similar to the above, this lists when Harbhajan Singh, an immensely talented Indian cricketer, has taken a five-wicket haul. He's currently the eighth best in the world at doing so.
 * List of works by Leslie Charteris (nominated by SchroCat) Charteris was a British-American writer. Born in Singapore to a Chinese father and an English mother, Charteris left college to begin writing on a full-time basis. His third book introduced the fictional Simon Templar, or "The Saint", a character that would define much of the rest of his work.
 * List of songs recorded by Marina and the Diamonds (nominated by WikiRedactor) This Welsh singer has released two albums and two extended plays, along with eight singles.
 * Shakira discography (nominated by WonderBoy1998) In comparison to Marina, Shakira has "ten studio albums, four live albums, two compilation albums, forty-nine singles (including nine as featured artist), and nine promotional singles", and she remains "the only South American artist to peak at number one on the Australian Singles Chart, the UK Singles Chart, and the US Billboard Hot 100."

Featured pictures
Seventeen featured pictures were promoted this week.
 * Dining hall of Magdalene College (created and nominated by David Iliff) This very ornate dining hall is part of the University of Cambridge's Magdalene College. According to the nominator, the "Detail is good enough that you can practically read what was for lunch on the menu".
 * Chapel of St John's College (created and nominated by David Iliff) Taken by the same photographer as the dining hall, this image captures the even more ornate chapel at Cambridge's St John's College. They say that "The beauty of the interior speaks for itself, but I think the the ambiance and details are captured nicely."
 * Nighthawks (nominated by Armbrust) From the Art Institute of Chicago, the 1942 painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper captures several individuals getting a hearty meal at a late night diner.
 * Selwyn College Old Court (created and nominated by David Iliff) This uncommon exterior shot from Iliff (one reviewer commented that "You haven't nominated one of these in ages") shows the courtyard and Old Court at Selwyn College, a constituent college within the University of Cambridge.
 * Chapel (facing east) and Chapel (facing west) of Selwyn College (created and nominated by David Iliff) More images in Iliff's continuing series on various beautiful places on the Cambridge campus.
 * William Crooks (created by the National Photo Company, restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) The William Crooks was the first locomotive to operate in the state of Minnesota, and is one of very few locomotives from the time of the American Civil War to survive to the present day.
 * Nave, Stairs to the Chapter House, Chapter House, St Andrew's Cross arches under the tower, Lady Chapel, and Organ of Wells Cathedral (created and nominated by David Iliff) Yet more gorgeous and stunning imagery from Iliff.
 * Sunita Williams (created by NASA, nominated by ) This astronaut holds several space-related records and is still active.
 * Mandarin ducks (created by Francis C. Franklin, nominated by Chris Woodrich) A gorgeous photo by a wonderful photographer, showing Mandarin ducks, a colourful, East-Asian duck species, iconic in Chinese and Korean folklore as symbols of peace and fidelity, connected to weddings and marriages.
 * Red Skelton (created by unknown photographer, restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden, with minor tweaks by Chris Woodrich) Description... Yes, when Red Skelton became a featured article two weeks ago, we did a restoration of it to use in the  Signpost report (and. er, the article too, I guess). Expect John Hay in another couple weeks.
 * Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, 2014 (created by NASA and collaborators, nominated by ) According to NASA's press release, this image is the result of "Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope" who were able to assemble "a comprehensive picture of the evolving universe—among the most colorful deep space images ever captured by the 24-year-old telescope."

Featured topics
Two featured topics were promoted this week.
 * Raphinae (nominated by IJReid) A group of extinct birds that includes the infamous dodo.
 * Union Films (nominated by Crisco 1492) This large topic comes on what even the nominator admits is an "obscure" topic: lost 1940s movies from Union Films, a Chinese-owned company located in what is now Indonesia.