The Wikipedia article of the day for May 31, 2016 is Half-Life 2: Episode One.
Half-Life 2: Episode One is a first-person shooter video game, the first in a series of episodes that serve as the sequel for the 2004 game Half-Life 2. Originally called Half-Life 2: Aftermath, it was developed by Valve Corporation and released on June 1, 2006. Episode One, like Half-Life 2, uses the Source game engine. The game debuted new lighting and animation technologies, as well as artificial intelligence enhancements for the sidekick character, Alyx Vance. Episode One tracks scientist Gordon Freeman and Alyx as they fight in humanity’s continuing struggle against the Combine, an alien race. Gordon wakes up outside the enemy’s base of operations, the Citadel, after being rendered unconscious by the concluding events of Half-Life 2. During the course of the game, Gordon travels with Alyx in and around war-torn City 17 as they attempt to evacuate the city. As the game comes to an end, they are trapped in a derailing train; their fates are revealed in Episode Two. Critical reaction was generally positive, especially for the cooperative aspects of the gameplay, but the game’s short length was criticized.
Archives for May 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for May 31, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for May 29, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 29, 2016 is House of Plantagenet.
The House of Plantagenet (1154–1485) was the royal house of all the English kings from Henry II to Richard III, including the Angevin kings and the houses of Lancaster and York. In addition to the traditional judicial, feudal and military roles of the king, the Plantagenets had duties to the realm that were underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. They were often forced to agree to constraints on royal power, such as Magna Carta, in return for financial and military support. During their reigns, a distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, and by the establishment of English as the primary language. In the 15th century, the Plantagenets were defeated in France in the Hundred Years’ War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Revolts were triggered by politics and by the denial of freedoms. English nobles raised private armies, engaged in private feuds and openly defied Henry VI. Rivalry between the Yorkists and Lancastrians erupted into the Wars of the Roses. After Richard III’s death ended the reign of the Plantagenets, Henry VII founded the Tudor dynasty.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 28, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 28, 2016 is The Phantom Tollbooth.
The Phantom Tollbooth is a 1961 children’s adventure novel by Norton Juster with illustrations by Jules Feiffer (pictured). It tells the story of a bored young boy named Milo, who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth one afternoon and, having nothing better to do, drives through it in his toy car. The tollbooth transports him to the Kingdom of Wisdom, once prosperous, now troubled. There, he acquires two faithful companions and goes on a quest to restore to the kingdom its exiled princesses, named Rhyme and Reason. The text is full of puns and wordplay; many events, such as when Milo unintentionally jumps to Conclusions (an island in Wisdom), explore the literal meanings of idioms. A major theme of the book is a love for education. Although the book was not expected to sell well, it received strong reviews and has sold in excess of three million copies. It has been adapted into a film, opera, and play, and translated into many languages. Critics have compared its appeal to that of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 27, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 27, 2016 is A Quiet Night In.
“A Quiet Night In” is the second episode of the British dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. Written by Reece Shearsmith (pictured) and Steve Pemberton, it first aired on 12 February 2014 on BBC Two. It stars the writers as a pair of hapless burglars attempting to steal a painting from the large, modernist house of an oblivious quarreling couple, played by Denis Lawson and Oona Chaplin—a granddaughter of the silent film star Charlie Chaplin. The episode progresses almost entirely without dialogue, relying on physical comedy and slapstick. Critics generally responded positively to the episode, and a particularly laudatory review by David Chater was published in The Times. On its first airing, the episode was watched by 940,000 viewers (4.8% of the market). It was submitted to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for their 2015 awards, but was not nominated. Pemberton and Shearsmith are not planning any further silent episodes for Inside No. 9, but they have continued the use of experimental formats, including in the 2015 split screen episode “Cold Comfort”.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 26, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 26, 2016 is Paul Collingwood.
Paul Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) was until 2011 a regular member of the England Test cricket team. He is a batting all-rounder, and a medium-pace bowler. His 206 during the 2006–07 Ashes series was the first double century by an England batsman in Australia for 78 years. Three consecutive match-winning performances at the end of the 2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia brought him enthusiastic approval in the British media, helping to secure the trophy for England. In 2010 he led the England team to their first International Cricket Council Trophy, the 2010 World Twenty20. He has made the most One Day International appearances for England and was, until recently passed by Ian Bell, its leading run scorer. He announced his retirement from Test cricket in January 2011, during the 5th Test of the 2010–11 Ashes series. He finished on a high, becoming a three-time Ashes winner as England won a series in Australia for the first time in 24 years, with three innings victories contributing to a 3–1 win. He is regarded as one of the finest fielders of his time.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 25, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 25, 2016 is Operation Copperhead.
Operation Copperhead was a small military deception operation run by the British during the Second World War. Conceived by Dudley Clarke, it was intended to mislead German intelligence as to the location of General Bernard Montgomery just before the 1944 invasion of Normandy. The German high command expected Montgomery, one of the best-known Allied commanders, to play a key role in any cross-channel bridgehead. Clarke and the other deception planners reasoned that a high-profile appearance outside England would suggest that an Allied invasion was not imminent. An appropriate look-alike was found, M. E. Clifton James, who spent a short time with Montgomery to familiarise himself with the general’s mannerisms. On 26 May, James flew to Gibraltar and then to Algiers, making appearances where the Allies knew German intelligence agents would spot him, but the operation did not appear to have any significant impact on German plans. James later wrote a book about the operation, I Was Monty’s Double, which was adapted into a film, with James in the lead role.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 23, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 23, 2016 is Spanish conquest of Petén.
The Spanish conquest of Petén was the last stage of the conquest of Guatemala, a prolonged conflict during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. The Itza, the Yalain, the Kowoj, and other Maya populations in Petén were engaged in a complex web of alliances and enmities before the conquest. Petén was first penetrated by Hernán Cortés with a sizeable expedition that crossed the territory from north to south in 1525. In the first half of the 16th century Spain established neighbouring colonies in Yucatán to the north and Guatemala to the south. In 1622 a military expedition from Yucatán led by Captain Francisco de Mirones was massacred by the Itza. In 1628 the Manche Ch’ol of the south were placed under the administration of the colonial governor of Verapaz within the Captaincy General of Guatemala. In 1695 another expedition tried to reach Lake Petén Itzá from Guatemala. Martín de Ursúa y Arizmendi captured Nojpetén, the island capital of the Itza kingdom, in 1697, defeating the last of the independent native kingdoms in the Americas and incorporating them into the Spanish Empire.
Wikipedia article of the day for May 22, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for May 22, 2016 is Frigatebird.
Frigatebirds are a family—Fregatidae—of seabirds found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five living species are classified in a single genus, Fregata. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked tails and long hooked bills. Their pointed wings can span up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft), with the largest wing area to body weight ratio of any bird. Females have white bellies and males have a distinctive red gular pouch, which they inflate during the breeding season. Able to soar for days on wind currents, frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food. They mainly eat fish and squid that have been chased to the surface by large predators such as tuna. Frigatebirds are kleptoparasites as they occasionally rob other seabirds for food, and are known to snatch seabird chicks from the nest. Three of the five species are widespread, while two are endangered and restrict their breeding habitat to one small island each. The oldest fossils date to the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago; classified in the genus Limnofregata, those birds had shorter less-hooked bills and longer legs, and lived in a freshwater environment.
