Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 January 12

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Harrelson and McConaughey

The first season of True Detective, an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto, premiered on HBO on January 12, 2014, starring Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, and Tory Kittles. The nonlinear narrative in eight episodes focuses on Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rust Cohle (McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Harrelson) as they investigate the murder of prostitute Dora Lange in 1995. Seventeen years later, they must revisit the investigation, along with several other unsolved crimes. The first season explores themes of philosophical pessimism, masculinity, and Christianity; critics have analyzed the show's portrayal of women, its auteurist sensibility, and the influence of comics, weird fiction and horror fiction on its narrative. The episodes, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, were filmed in Louisiana. The series received positive reviews and garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film, along with other honors for writing, cinematography, direction, and acting. (Full article...)

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Gorgon IV

... that the Gorgon IV (pictured) was the first ramjet-powered aircraft to successfully fly in the United States?
... that Genius Grant winner Regina Barzilay helped decipher the ancient language Ugaritic?
... that steam-distilled garlic oil has around 900 times the strength of fresh garlic?
... that Hatto Ständer, who played the organ in church services at age nine, was professor of organ playing, choral conducting, Gregorian chant and composition at the Technical University of Dortmund for more than three decades?
... that during the 1981 Milwaukee Police Strike, Mayor Henry Maier requested that taverns and bars voluntarily close early?
... that governor Liu Jianfeng and party secretary Deng Hongxun of Hainan clashed fiercely and tried to drive each other out of the province?
... that Desmarestia tropica, or tropical acidweed, is possibly extinct because of the 1982–83 El Niño event?
... that footballer Gordon Coleman scored the winning goal in a match against Blackpool in 1982 while sitting on the ground?

Steve Smith

In cricket, the Ashes series concludes with Australia (captain and man of the series Steve Smith pictured) beating England.
The National Unity Party wins the most seats in the parliamentary election in Northern Cyprus.
A passenger train collides with a truck on a level crossing near Kroonstad, South Africa, killing 19 people and injuring more than 250 others.
In darts, Rob Cross wins the PDC World Championship on his debut.
George Weah is elected President of Liberia.

January 12: Zanzibar Revolution Day in Tanzania (1964)

Kenesaw Mountain Landis

1554 – Bayinnaung, who later assembled the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, was crowned king of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty.
1895 – The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, was founded.
1921 – Seeking to restore confidence after the Black Sox Scandal, owners of Major League Baseball teams elected former United States district court judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (pictured) as the league's first commissioner.
1967 – Seventy-three-year-old psychology professor James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically frozen with intent of future resuscitation.
2010 – A 7.0 M_w earthquake struck Haiti, affecting an estimated three million people.

John Winthrop (b. 1587/88) · Étienne Lenoir (b. 1822) · Nikolai Podgorny (d. 1983)

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Death Grips

American band Death Grips has released six studio albums, one compilation album, three extended plays (EPs), one mixtape, seven singles, eight promotional singles, three remixes, and 42 music videos. The band was formed by MC Ride, Zach Hill, and Andy "Flatlander" Morin in Sacramento during the winter of 2010. In March 2011, they released their eponymous debut EP. The mixtape Exmilitary followed a month later and was praised by contemporary music critics. Death Grips signed a record deal with Epic Records in early 2012 and their debut studio album The Money Store was released in April, peaking at number 130 on the Billboard 200 chart. Because Epic Records would not confirm a release date for their second studio album No Love Deep Web before 2013, Death Grips self-released the album in November 2012. In July 2013, Death Grips launched Third Worlds, an imprint label of Harvest Records. They made their subsequent releases on this label. Their third and fourth albums, Government Plates and Fashion Week, were released in November 2013 and January 2015 respectively. (Full list...)

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The flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–23). Soon after the visit by the Magi, who had learned that King Herod intended to kill the infants of that area, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to tell him to flee to Egypt with Mary and infant son Jesus. The depiction here is part of an altarpiece by the Italian painter Gentile da Fabriano.

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