The Wikipedia article of the day for August 11, 2016 is System Shock 2.
System Shock 2 is a first-person action role-playing survival horror video game for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, first released on August 11, 1999. It was designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Originally written as a standalone title, it became a sequel to the 1994 PC game System Shock after Electronic Arts signed on as the publisher. In a cyberpunk depiction of 2114, the player assumes the role of a soldier trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated a starship. As in System Shock, gameplay consists of combat and exploration aided by acquired special abilities such as hacking and psionics. System Shock 2 received positive reviews, but failed to meet commercial sales expectations. Critics later determined that the game was highly influential in subsequent game design, particularly on first-person shooters, and considered it far ahead of its time. It has been included in several lists of all-time best video games. OtherSide Entertainment has been licensed the rights to produce a sequel, System Shock 3.
Archives for August 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for August 11, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for August 10, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 10, 2016 is Jerry Pentland.
Jerry Pentland (1894–1983) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. He saw action at Gallipoli as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force in 1915. Transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, he was credited with 23 aerial victories to become the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war. He was awarded the Military Cross for attacking an enemy airfield, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly. Pentland served in the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later the Royal Air Force, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around New Guinea goldfields. By the early 1930s, he was a pilot with Australian National Airways. He re-joined the RAAF during World War II, commanding rescue and communications units in the South West Pacific. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the RAAF, Pentland was responsible for several rescues involving soldiers and civilians, and earned the Air Force Cross for his bravery and skill. He became a trader in New Guinea after the war, and later a coffee planter. He retired in 1959.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 9, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 9, 2016 is Albert Ketèlbey.
Albert Ketèlbey (9 August 1875 – 26 November 1959) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist, best known for his light orchestral music. He was born in Birmingham, moving to London in 1889 to study at Trinity College of Music where he became musical director of the Vaudeville Theatre. For many years Ketèlbey worked for music publishers including Chappell & Co and the Columbia Graphophone Company, providing arrangements for smaller orchestras. He composed accompanying music for silent films; In a Monastery Garden (1915) sold over a million copies and brought widespread notice. Later soundtracks for exotic scenes such as In a Persian Market (1920, cover pictured), In a Chinese Temple Garden (1923), and In the Mystic Land of Egypt (1931), became best-sellers; by the late 1920s Ketèlbey was Britain’s first millionaire composer. His popularity waned during the Second World War. In 1949 he retired to the Isle of Wight, where he died in obscurity. In a 2003 poll by the BBC’s Your Hundred Best Tunes, Bells across the Meadows was voted the thirty-sixth most popular tune of all time.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 8, 2016 is Christ Illusion.
Christ Illusion is the tenth studio album by the American thrash metal band Slayer. Released on August 8, 2006, the album received generally favorable critical reviews, and it entered the Billboard 200 at number 5—the band’s second highest U.S. chart position. Christ Illusion includes the Grammy Award-winning songs “Eyes of the Insane” and “Final Six”, and is the band’s first studio album to feature original drummer Dave Lombardo since 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss. Depicting a mutilated Christ painted by longtime collaborator Larry Carroll, the album’s graphic artwork courted controversy. An alternative cover was issued to conservative retailers who felt uncomfortable with the original. The band also put out a self-censored cover without the controversial artwork. Lyrics, particularly in the song “Jihad”, describe the September 11 attacks from the perspective of a terrorist. Following protests, all Indian stocks of the album were recalled and destroyed by EMI India.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 7, 2016 is 1998 FA Charity Shield.
The 1998 FA Charity Shield was the 76th in a series of annual English football matches organised by The Football Association and usually played between the winners of the previous season’s Premier League and FA Cup competitions. It was contested on 9 August 1998 by Arsenal, who won both titles the previous season, and Manchester United, the league runners-up. Watched by a crowd of 67,342 at Wembley Stadium (pictured), United began the game strong, but Arsenal took the lead when Marc Overmars scored 11 minutes before half-time. They extended their lead in the second half, as Overmars and Nicolas Anelka found Christopher Wreh, who put the ball into an empty net at the second attempt. In the 72nd minute, Arsenal scored a third goal, when Anelka got around Jaap Stam in the penalty box and shot the ball past goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. Arsenal won the match 3–0, United’s first defeat in the Shield in 13 years. United completed a treble of trophies in the 1998–99 season, winning the league, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 6, 2016 is Waddesdon Bequest.
The Waddesdon Bequest is a collection, left to the British Museum in Baron Ferdinand Rothschild’s will in 1898, taken from his New Smoking Room at Waddesdon Manor. It includes almost 300 pieces of jewellery, plate, enamel, carvings, glass and maiolica. Earlier than most objects is the Holy Thorn Reliquary, probably created in the 1390s in Paris for John, Duke of Berry. The wide-ranging collection is in the tradition of a treasure house, such as those owned by the Renaissance princes of Europe. Most of the objects are from late Renaissance Europe; there are several important medieval pieces, and outliers from classical antiquity and medieval Syria. Rothschild selected intricate, superbly executed, highly decorated and rather ostentatious works of the Late Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerist periods for this collection. Few of the objects relied on the Baroque sculptural movement for their effect, though several come from periods and places where many Baroque pieces were being made. A new display for the collection, which under the terms of the bequest must be kept and displayed together, opened in 2015.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 5, 2016 is Harry Trott.
Harry Trott (1866–1917) was an Australian cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and fielder. As a captain, he was assertive, respected by teammates and opponents alike and quick to spot a weakness in opponents. Trott made his Test debut in 1888 and toured England four times; on his last tour, he was elected captain by his team-mates. England won the series and retained The Ashes, but Trott’s captaincy was praised by the likes of Ranjitsinhji and Wisden. In the return series in Australia, Trott led his side to victory, regaining The Ashes in a win credited as aiding the federation of the Australian colonies. A mysterious illness in 1898 abruptly ended Trott’s Test career. After more than a year in Kew Asylum, he recovered and returned to first-class cricket for nearly 10 years. After retirement from cricket Trott served as a selector for the Victoria cricket team. A good-humoured man, Trott once played a joke on his friends by giving each a cigar butt supposedly smoked by royalty. When he died, well-wishers contributed to a monument over his grave.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 4, 2016 is Maurice Richard.
Maurice Richard (1921–2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens between 1942 and 1960. A prolific scorer, he was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season and the first to reach 500 career goals. An eight-time Stanley Cup champion, he won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player in 1947 and played in 13 consecutive All-Star Games. Richard was a cultural icon for Quebec’s Francophone population, as recounted in the short story The Hockey Sweater, which elevated him to a pan-Canadian hero. His 1955 suspension for striking an official precipitated the Richard Riot; some historians consider the incident a violent manifestation of Francophone Quebec’s dissatisfaction over its place within Canada and a precursor to the Quiet Revolution. Richard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961 and was named to the Order of Canada in 1967. The Canadiens retired his jersey number, 9, in 1960, and in 1998 donated the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy to the NHL, awarded annually to the league’s regular season leading goal-scorer.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 3, 2016 is Thorpe affair.
The Thorpe affair of the 1970s was a British political and sex scandal that ended the career of Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for North Devon. The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Scott of a homosexual affair, at a time when such relationships were illegal in the United Kingdom. Thorpe denied any such liaison and largely managed to avoid public and press scrutiny, but Scott’s allegations were a persistent threat for years, endangering the Liberal Party’s mid-1970s revival. Unsuccessful attempts to buy Scott’s silence and frighten him culminated in 1975 with the shooting of his dog by a hired gunman. The police investigation and publicity forced Thorpe’s resignation. He and three others were charged with conspiracy to murder Scott, but the main prosecution witnesses were undermined by, among other factors, their financial arrangements with newspapers. All four defendents were acquitted, although there were later claims that important prosecution evidence had been suppressed by the police. Thorpe’s reputation was damaged irreparably by evidence that was uncontested, and he did not return to public life.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 2, 2016 is Interstate 68.
Interstate 68 (I-68) is a 112.9-mile (181.7 km) Interstate highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting Interstate 79 in Morgantown to Interstate 70 in Hancock, and is also part of the Appalachian Development Highway System. In Maryland, it parallels the historic National Road between Keysers Ridge and Hancock. A road cut at one of the many mountain ridges it crosses, Sideling Hill, exposes geological features that have become a tourist attraction. From 1965 until the freeway’s construction was completed on August 2, 1991, its segments were designated as U.S. Route 48. It crosses Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties in Maryland, and Preston and Monongalia counties in West Virginia. The two largest cities connected by the highway are Morgantown and Cumberland, Maryland. Although the freeway serves no major metropolitan areas, it connects western Maryland and northern West Virginia and provides an alternative to the Pennsylvania Turnpike for westbound traffic from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. US 219, US 220 and US 40 overlap in part with I-68.
