Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-02-25/Featured content

This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 8 to 14 February, 2015. Text may be adapted from the respective articles and lists; see their page histories for attribution.

Featured articles
Eleven featured articles were promoted this week.
 * Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (nominated by Freikorp) A relatively early 3D-animated film which attempted to make the leap to photorealism, Square Pictures rendered the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within using some of the most advanced processing capabilities available for film animation at the time. A render farm consisting of 960 workstations was tasked with rendering each of the film's 141,964 frames, and a staff of 200 and about four years labored towards its completion. Square intended to make the character of Aki Ross into the world's first photorealistic computer-animated actress, with plans for appearances in multiple films in different roles. However, all this technical achievement also made it a very expensive film, so Square Pictures was unable to make back the money put into it, leading to its demise. The plot follows scientists Aki Ross and Doctor Sid in their efforts to free a post-apocalyptic Earth from a mysterious and deadly alien race known as the Phantoms, who have driven the remnants of humanity into "barrier cities".
 * Brachychiton rupestris (nominated by Melburnian and Cas Liber) A drought-deciduous succulent tree, Brachychiton rupestris adapts readily to cultivation and is tolerant of a range of various soils and temperatures. It is a key component and emergent tree in the endangered central semi-evergreen vine thickets—also known as bottletree scrub—of Queensland Brigalow Belt. Cream flowers appear from September to November, and are followed by the woody boat-shaped follicles, which are ripe from November to May.
 *  Interstate 8 (nominated by Rschen7754) A road from San Diego, California to Casa Grande, Arizona, Interstate 8, like much of the American interstate system, expands on previous roads. Mobster Jimmy Fratianno was involved in the construction of the El Centro section, and was convicted of fraud, public utility and labour violations, withholding wages from the truckers he employed, and damaging roads with overloaded trucks. The Arizona State government, meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, was found guilty by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee of financial mismanagement in their hiring of contractors, failing to protect the public interest while doing so, and leading to numerous errors in construction. In other words, a surprising article, full of juicy scandals.
 * Girl Pat (1935 trawler) (nominated by Brianboulton) The Girl Pat was a small fishing trawler based at the Lincolnshire port of Grimsby, whose unauthorised transatlantic voyage in 1936 caused a media sensation. The escapade ended in Georgetown, British Guiana, with the arrest of the trawler's captain, George "Dod" Orsborne, and his brother. The pair were later imprisoned for the theft of the vessel. Built in 1935, Girl Pat was the property of the Marstrand Fishing Company of Grimsby. On 1 April 1936,   Orsborne, with a crew of four and his brother James as a supernumerary, took the vessel out on what the owners authorised as a routine North Sea fishing trip of two to three weeks' duration. Using a cheap school atlas to navigate, the trawler went on a long cruise, to Spain, the Savage Islands, Dakar in Senegal, and islands off French Guiana in South America. The wayward sailors were finally captured in Georgetown, British Guiana, and the world's press, unsurprisingly, thought they were amazing and took their side. They were convicted, but after eighteen months for George, and twelve months for his brother, they were out, still acclaimed as public heroes.
 * Fork-marked lemur (nominated by Maky) Like all lemurs, the fork-marked lemur is native to Madagascar, where they are found only in the west, north, and east sides of the island. But not the south; the south is right out. Fork-marked lemurs are among the least studied of all lemurs and are some of the largest members of the family Cheirogaleidae, weighing around 350 g or more.
 * Trinity (nuclear test) (nominated by Hawkeye7) The Trinity nuclear test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, on the White Sands Proving Ground of the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range.  The test used an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.  J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, named it "Trinity" after the work of John Donne.  After the successful test, he recalled some other lines of verse, from the Bhagavad Gita: Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
 * Sega Saturn (nominated by TheTimesAreAChanging) Showcased at the Tokyo Toy Show in June 1994, according to Sega project manager Hideki Okamura, the Saturn Sega project started over two years beforehand. The name "Saturn" was initially the system's codename during development in Japan, but was eventually chosen as the official product name. Initially successful in Japan, it failed to sell in large numbers in the United States after its surprise May 1995 launch, four months before its scheduled release date. After the debut of the Nintendo 64 in late 1996, the Saturn rapidly lost market share in the US, where it was discontinued in 1998, but it lasted somewhat longer in Japan and Europe. It is considered a commercial failure, albeit one with some highly-regarded games.
 * Rodrigues starling (nominated by FunkMonk) is an extinct species of starling that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. Known only from partially-fossilized remains and the reports of a single sailor, Julien Tafforet, who was marooned on the island, the Rodrigues starling was 25–30 cm (10–12 inches) long, and had a stout beak. It was described as having a white body, partially black wings and tail, and a yellow bill and legs, and ate eggs and dead tortoises. Predation by rats introduced to the area was probably responsible for the bird's extinction some time in the 18th century.
 * Money in the Bank (2011) (nominated by starship.paint) The seventh of thirteen professional wrestling pay-per-view events held by WWE in 2011, Money in the Bank featured six matches, including two ladder matches, in which wrestlers attempted to use ladders to claim briefcases full of money dangling above the ring. Alberto Del Rio won the match for wrestlers from the Raw brand to earn a WWE Championship match at a time of his choosing within the next year, while Daniel Bryan won the match for wrestlers from the SmackDown brand for the same opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship.
 * Casino Royale (novel) (nominated by SchroCat) Casino Royale is a 1953 spy thriller by Ian Fleming, inspired by his work in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II. It was the first of 12 novels featuring the suave and deadly MI6 agent James Bond, code-named 007, a character who would go on to worldwide fame in print and on screen.  Initially popular in the UK, it took longer to catch on in the US.  There, the hardback sold poorly; the paperback was retitled You Asked for It and 007 was renamed "Jimmy Bond".   It also took longer to be properly adapted for the screen.  A 1954 TV adaptation made Bond American and included a baccarat tutorial for viewers.  A 1967 parody, described as "incoherent", featured David Niven as Bond and Woody Allen as his nephew Jimmy Bond.  The wildly successful Bond film series with Sean Connery and others started instead in 1962 with a later novel, Dr. No, not getting around to Casino Royale until the 21st film, a successful and acclaimed 2006 reboot of the series starring Daniel Craig.
 * Laurence Olivier  (nominated by SchroCat and Tim riley) In 1924, Gerard Olivier, a habitually frugal man, told his son that not only must he gain admission to the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, but he must also gain a scholarship with a bursary to cover his tuition fees and living expenses. Olivier's sister had been a student there and was a favorite of Elsie Fogerty, the founder and principal of the school. Olivier later speculated that it was on the strength of this that Fogerty agreed to award him the bursary. Following Olivier's success in Shakespearean stage productions, he made his first foray into Shakespeare on film in 1936, as Orlando in As You Like It, directed by Paul Czinner, "a charming if lightweight production", according to Michael Brooke of the British Film Institute's (BFI's) Screenonline. He is noted for numerous films, including three adaptations of Shakespeare which he also directed: Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948), and Richard III (1955), adaptations of novels, such as Wuthering Heights (1939), Rebecca (1940), Marathon Man (1976), and other films including The Boys from Brazil (1978), involving a plot to clone Hitler, and - in a rather clever twist - to also give him the important life events that shaped Hitler's character. Fun fact: I'd love to include pictures of him in this Signpost, but am not convinced of the copyright status of any of the half-decent images.

Featured pictures
Twenty-two featured pictures were promoted this week.
 * The Surrender of Breda (created by Diego Velázquez, nominated by Crisco 1492) The Surrender of Breda shows the capture of Breda in 1625, one of the few major successes of Spanish arms in the latter stages of the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish general, Genoese aristocrat Ambrogio Spinola, conquered Breda against the instructions of his superiors. Before its capture, the Spanish government had decided that siege warfare against heavily defended towns of the Low Countries was too wasteful and that they would concentrate instead on an economic blockade of the Dutch republic. The bulk of Spanish forces were diverted to the unfolding Thirty Years War. The painter, Diego Velázquez, was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain, where he painted the iconic Las Meninas.
 * Virgin of the Rocks (created by Leonardo da Vinci, nominated by SchroCat) The Virgin of the Rocks (full title: The Virgin with the Infant Saint John the Baptist adoring the Christ Child accompanied by an Angel) is the name for two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. In this second version, besides the infant Saint John the Baptist adoring the Christ Child, Mary and Jesus are depicted with a halo and John the Baptist holding a cruciform staff, as a subtle reference to the cross. It is on display in the National Gallery, London.
 *  Doolittle Raid (created by Castle Films, nominated by TomStar81) This video of the Doolittle Raid, the first bombing of Tokyo in World War II, shows Col. Jimmy Doolittle preparing for the raid, followed by pilots and planes shown on board the carrier USS Hornet. The planes take off in choppy seas and successfully bomb targets, as was spoiled at the start of this description.
 *  Mars and Venus (created by Sandro Botticelli, nominated by SchroCat) Mars and Venus is one of the masterpieces of Sandro Botticelli, one of the most renowned painters in an era full of them, the Renaissance. If there was a fifth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, he might be named Botticelli.  It is one of five Botticelli works acquired in the 19th century by the National Gallery.  A barely dressed Mars enjoys what appears to be a post-coital nap while Venus is quite overdressed compared to her appearance in another Botticelli masterpiece, the Birth of Venus.  Four satyrs playfully appropriate his armor and weapons, with one of them about to abruptly wake Mars by blowing into a conch shell next to his ear.
 *  Marvel Science Stories cover (created by Norman Saunders, restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) A fine, rare example of science fiction art from an ephemeral magazine. As the magazine's table of contents describes this cover of the April-May 1939 issue of Marvel Science Stories, "Norman Saunders, inimitable science-fiction cover artist, gives his conception of a beauty parlor of the future — A Mechanical Fountain of Youth", and an accompanying article by Eando Binder chattily talks about imagining walking into one of these future marvels, and with no injections or cutting, just the miraculous power of electricity recharging the cells - yes, we know - and adjusting the hormone levels by modifying the endocrine glands, in order to restore one to the state they were in at their youth. The article explains that biology is one of the younger sciences, so it might well be possible.  Well... maybe this was more plausible at the time, but anyone who has done biology in school in the last few decades will be able to tear this apart themselves.
 * The Princess and the Trolls (created by John Bauer, nominated by SagaciousPhil) John Bauer was a Swedish painter and illustrator.  While heavily influenced by the art of the Renaissance, his style was romantic nationalism and he was dedicated to the folklore and nature of his home country.  This image, from the Nationalmuseum Stockholm, is one of his illustrations for Among Gnomes and Trolls, a series of popular fairy tale anthologies published by Åhlén & Åkerlund.  Bauer produced watercolors using a muted color scheme that were included as full-page illustrations which were a highlight of the series; sales dropped significantly when he was not illustrating the books.  Bauer abandoned the series after World War I, saying that he could no longer imagine the world as a fairy tale.  Unfortunately, he died young at 36 along with his wife and child, drowning in a shipwreck on Lake Vättern.
 *  Three Arch Bay (created and nominated by D. Ramey Logan) Three Arch Bay in Laguna, California was named after the shape of the rocks, forming the Three Arches this rather exclusive area is named after. Few people even know these pools are in South Laguna Beach. The original square pool, seen in the center of the photo, was built in 1929 by the famous director and producer Edward H. Griffith. This entire community was sold in 1926 for $135,000.00. Today, the original Edward H. Griffith home featuring the original pool is on the market and will run you a cool 25 million, but that price includes the original pool and private beach, an interior that would have you feeling like "Pete the Pirate", and your own personal "Light House" reading room to allow you to "Edit Wikipedia in Style"! The classic 1935 Warner Bros. Academy Award-nominated film Captain Blood was also filmed in Three Arch Bay, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill and Basil Rathbone - so you will be in good company! Take the flight and get the shot with WPPilot.
 * Charlottenburg Palace (created by Thomas Wolf and nominated by Tomer T) Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Germany is the only surviving royal residence in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. It was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. This, however, is not pictured here. So go, go my friends, and get photographs of the interior for us to join this excellent exterior shot.
 * Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando (created by Edgar Degas, nominated by SchroCat and Crisco 1492) Miss La La was an acrobat who caused a sensation at the Cirque Fernando in Montmartre, Paris in the late 1870s. After Edgar Degas saw her perform he painted this painting, Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, his only painting of the circus. It is painted from a low perspective—from the viewpoint of an audience member—and is asymmetrical. The art historian Theodore Reff called the picture "one of his most remarkable images". If you wish to see the real Miss La La,  this article from The New York Times includes a photograph.
 * Fort Pierce Inlet (created and nominated by D. Ramey Logan a.k.a. WPPilot) Fort Pierce Inlet State Park is a 340 acre part of the Florida State Park system, located on North Hutchinson Island, near Fort Pierce. Despite the name, it is in fact just north of the Fort Pierce Inlet. It consists of beaches, dunes and a coastal hammock of trees. South Florida has some remarkable views and once again you get to fly along and enjoy them with WPPilot.
 * Still Life with Profile of Laval (created by Paul Gauguin, nominated by Crisco 1492) Still Life with Profile of Laval is a 1886 oil painting by French artist Paul Gauguin which depicts his friend, Charles Laval, in profile with an assortment of inanimate objects, including a ceramic pot Gauguin made himself. The pot is strangely shaped and highly asymmetrical, so either Gauguin couldn't sculpt, or he can't paint. This is, of course, entirely unfair, and is just meant as a gag.
 * Newscast (created by Alex Schomburg, restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) An interior illustration from the aforementioned issue of Marvel Science Stories by Alex Schomburg for the story Newscast by Harl Vincent. A fine example of black-and-white science fiction art that we would have featured prominently had we not already featured the cover. Have a teeny-tiny copy instead. [[File:Alex Schomburg - Harl Vincent - Marvel Science Stories for April-May 1939 - Illustration for Newscast.jpg|10px|alt=A tiny copy of the image, too small to make out anything, follows that text.]] Impressive, isn't it?
 * Drifting (created by Rowan Harrison, nominated and slightly edited by FakeShemp) Steve Moore drifting a Nissan Silvia (S14) around Lydden Hill at King of Europe Round 3 (2014). As a motorsport discipline, professional drifting competitions are held worldwide and are judged according to the speed, angle, showmanship and line taken through a corner or set of corners.
 * Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (created by Frank Schulenburg and nominated by Crisco 1492) Old and new eastern spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in September 2013, shortly after the new span opened for traffic. It had been known for over 30 years that a major earthquake on either of two nearby faults (the San Andreas and the Hayward) could destroy the major cantilever span. Little was done to address this problem until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Once part of your bridge falls down in an earthquake, it tends to speed up the legislature.
 * April 2014 lunar eclipse (created by Robert Jay GaBany, nominated by The Herald) This total lunar eclipse took place on April 15, 2014. It was the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2014 and the first in a tetrad (four total lunar eclipses in a series). Subsequent eclipses in the tetrad are those of October 8, 2014, April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015. Finding out about this tetrad has led to the usual sane and sensible reaction from end times proponents.
 * Louis Meijer  (created by Louis Meijer, nominated by Hafspajen) A Dutch painter, etcher, lithographer, and draftsman, Louis Meijer studied under Pieter Westenberg and Jan Willem Pieneman, and lived in Deventer. He moved to study from 1841 in Paris and then moved back again to the The Hague. Meijer died on 31 March 1866, at the age of 57, in Utrecht in the Netherlands. This 1838 self-portrait is in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
 * Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (The Harem) (created by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, nominated by Hafspajen and Philafrenzy) In the 1870s, Pierre-Auguste Renoir temporarily rejected the realism of Gustave Courbet and Eduard Manet in favour of the colour and drama of his hero Eugène Delacroix. He painted Parisian Women in Algerian Costume (The Harem) in homage to Delacroix's Women of Algiers in their Apartment (1834), which he later described as "the most beautiful picture in existence".
 * Destroy this Mad Brute: Enlist (created by Harry R. Hopps, restored by Christoph Braun, nominated by Crisco 1492) Destroy this Mad Brute: Enlist (1917) is a World War I American propaganda poster by Harry R. Hopps which shows a terrifying gorilla with a helmet labeled "militarism" holding a bloody club labeled "kultur" and a half-naked woman as he stomps onto the shore of America. Released as the Americans entered WWI, several years late, it is an interesting example of Anti-German sentiment in the US. Few people know that Kaiser Wilhelm II was, in fact, King Kong's father. Strange but true! [ citation needed ]
 * Barracudasauroides (created by Archaeodontosaurus, nominated by Alborzagros) Barracudasauroides panxianensis was a mixosaurid ichthyosaur which lived during the Middle Triassic. This fossil, like most Barracudasauroides fossils, was found in Guizhou Province, China.
 * Deutsche Mark (created by Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company for the United States Army, nominated and prepared from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution by Godot13) A 1948 West German (Federal Republic of Germany) Deutsche Mark. The issue of this currency by the Allies was combined with a wage freeze, and two different exchange rates with the old Rentenmark, depending on whether they were savings or wages/payments, attempting to avoid further hyperinflation. In the summer of 1948, a giant wave of strikes and demonstrations swept over West Germany, leading to an incident in Stuttgart where strikers were met by US tanks ("Stuttgarter Vorfälle"), and only after the wage freeze was abandoned was the Deutsche Mark accepted. By the way, the article Deutsche Mark is terribly written at times. The bit of text that was based on is only semi-coherent, so we apologize for any mistakes.
 * East German mark (created by the Weimar Republic, modified by Soviet occupation forces, nominated and prepared from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution by Godot13) The first variety of the East German Deutsche Mark (1948) which circulated between late June and July of 1948. Due to the need to get a new currency out quickly, the base note is a 1937 Weimar Republic Rentenmark with a validation coupon stamp affixed. A yellow security tint can be seen on the right of the obverse.
 * Family of Barack Obama (created by Pete Souza, nominated by The Herald) An official portrait by the White House photographer, showing the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle Obama, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. The Obamas are the first First Family of African-American descent.