User:HiDrNick/TFA blurbs

San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1

The Olmec colossal heads are at least 17 monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads date from at least before 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature men with fleshy cheeks, flat noses and slightly crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, a mountain range in Veracruz. It is thought that the finished monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each is given a distinctive headdress. The heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres. Dating the monuments remains difficult due to the movement of many from their original context prior to archaeological investigation. Most have been dated to the Early Preclassic period (1500–1000 BC) with some to the Middle Preclassic period (1000–400 BC). (Full article...)

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The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England. Arising from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington, Dorset, it flows northwest through the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the nature reserve at Bridgwater Bay on the Bristol Channel, draining about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area. The 37-mile-long (60 km) river is tidal for 27 miles (43 km) up to Oath. During the Roman era, the Parrett was crossed by a ford, and in Anglo-Saxon times formed a boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia. From the medieval period, the river served the Port of Bridgwater, enabling cargoes to be transported inland. The arrival of the railways led to a decline and now commercial shipping only docks at Dunball. Along with its connected waterways and network of drains, the Parrett supports an ecosystem that includes several rare species of flora and fauna. The River Parrett Trail has been established along the banks of the river. (Full article...)

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Markham's storm petrel (Hydrobates markhami) is a seabird native to the Pacific Ocean around Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. It is a large and slender storm petrel; its plumage is black to sooty brown with a grayish bar that runs diagonally across the upper side of the wings. A colonial breeder, the species nests in natural cavities in salt crusts in northern Chile and Peru; 95 percent of the known colonies are found in the Atacama Desert. Pairs produce one egg per season, which is laid on bare ground without any nesting material. Parents will attend their brood only at night, returning to the sea before dawn. The diet of Markham's storm petrel consists mainly of fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. Despite its relatively large population, the species is in decline and listed as near threatened. Primary threats are habitat destruction and light pollution, which attracts or disorients fledglings on their first flight to the sea. (Full article...)

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Model of Thunderbird 2

Thunderbirds is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It was their fifth series to be made using Supermarionation (a form of electronic marionette puppetry) combined with scale model effects sequences. Two series were made, totalling 32 episodes. Thunderbirds follows the exploits of International Rescue, a lifesaving organisation led by ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy. Its missions are carried out using the Thunderbird machines (one pictured), a fleet of five vehicles piloted by Jeff's sons. Thunderbirds premiered on the ITV network on 30 September 1965 and has aired in at least 66 countries. Widely considered the Andersons' most popular and commercially successful series, it has been praised for its effects, music and title sequence. A real-life search and rescue service, the International Rescue Corps, took its name from the series. Thunderbirds was followed by two feature films in the 1960s, a live-action film in 2004 and a remake, Thunderbirds Are Go, in 2015. (Full article...)

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Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 ([[Special:EditPage/Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 |edit]] | [[Talk:Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 |talk]] | [[Special:PageHistory/Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 |history]] | [[Special:ProtectPage/Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 |protect]] | [[Special:DeletePage/Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 8, 2024 |delete]] | links | watch | logs | views) Tony Hawk's Underground is a skateboarding-adventure video game published by Activision in 2003 and 2004 as part of the Tony Hawk's series. Neversoft developed the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox versions, while the Game Boy Advance adaptation was developed by Vicarious Visions and the mobile phone version by Jamdat. Players explore levels and complete goals while performing tricks; players can also create a custom character instead of selecting a professional skater. The plot follows the player and their friend Eric Sparrow as the two become professionals and grow apart. The game was developed with a theme of individuality, and real-world skateboarders contributed their experiences during development. Reviewers praised its wide appeal, soundtrack, customization, multiplayer features, and plot. The graphics and the controls for driving vehicles and walking were less well received. Underground's PlayStation 2 version had sold 2.11 million copies in the United States by December 2007. A sequel was released in 2004. (Full article...)

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Jacket from The Birds

The Birds is the fifth collection by Alexander McQueen for his fashion house. It was inspired by ornithology and the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds. The collection centred around sharply tailored garments and emphasised female sexuality. The runway show was staged on 9 October 1994 and the venue was a warehouse in the London district of King's Cross. The Birds was styled with imagery of violence and death; some models were covered in tyre tracks and others wore white contact lenses. Reception was generally positive, although the styling drew accusations of misogyny. The show's success allowed McQueen to secure the financial backing to stage his next show, Highland Rape. Garments from The Birds appeared in both stagings of the retrospective exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. Seán McGirr heavily referenced The Birds for Autumn/Winter 2024, his debut collection as creative director for the Alexander McQueen brand. (Full article...)

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Harper Lee in 2007

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960 and considered a classic of modern American fiction. The novel is loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old. The narrator's father, Atticus Finch, has served as a moral hero for many readers, and a model of integrity for lawyers. As a Southern Gothic novel and a bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence, but scholars have also noted that Lee addresses the issues of class tensions, courage and compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South. The book, which won a Pulitzer Prize, is widely taught in schools in English-speaking countries with lessons that emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. Despite its themes, To Kill a Mockingbird has been the target of various campaigns to have it removed from public classrooms. (Full article...)

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