Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 May 29

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Kim Deal

Pod is the debut album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released by 4AD records on May 29, 1990. Engineered by Steve Albini, it features band leader Kim Deal (pictured) on vocals and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, Britt Walford on drums, and Tanya Donelly on guitar. The Breeders formed in 1988 when Deal, a member of the Pixies, befriended Donelly of Throwing Muses during a European tour. They recorded a country-infused demo in 1989, leading to 4AD co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell funding an album, Pod, recorded that year at the Palladium studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. The album became a critical and popular success, reaching number 22 in the UK. Critics praised its dark, sexualized lyrics, and compared it favorably to the Pixies. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain said it was one of his favorite records, and Pitchfork ranked it number 81 on its list of the best albums of the 1990s. The cover art was designed by Vaughan Oliver and portrays a man performing a fertility dance while wearing a belt of eels. (Full article...)

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In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Protests in Minneapolis

Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.
In the United States, protests (pictured) break out following the death of George Floyd during a police arrest in Minneapolis.
A Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft crashes in Karachi, killing ninety-seven people.

On this day

May 29: First day of Shavuot (Judaism, 2020); feast day of Saint Paul VI (Catholicism)

Place de la Nation, N'Djamena

1176 – Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines: Troops of the Lombard League defeated forces of the Holy Roman Empire near Legnano in present-day Italy.
1416 – A squadron of the Venetian navy captured many Ottoman ships at the Battle of Gallipoli, confirming Venetian naval superiority in the Aegean Sea for the next few decades.
1900 – N'Djamena (monument pictured), now the capital of Chad, was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Émile Gentil.
1954 – Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes.

David Beaton (d. 1546)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (b. 1897)
La Toya Jackson (b. 1956)

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The 2018 anime television series Banana Fish consists of 24 episodes. Adapted from the 1985 manga of the same name by Akimi Yoshida, the series was produced and animated by MAPPA, while development, promotion, and distribution was overseen by Aniplex. Banana Fish follows the relationship between Ash Lynx, a teenage gang leader in New York City, and Eiji Okumura, a Japanese photographer's assistant. The Banana Fish anime adaption was greenlit by Shogakukan, which published the original manga, based on a story proposal from Aniplex animation producer Kyōko Uryū. Uryū pitched the series for a 2018 release to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Yoshida's debut as a mangaka; the series would ultimately become part of a broader commemoration project to mark Yoshida's career. Each episode title references a literary work by a writer of the Lost Generation. (Full list...)

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On 29 May 1790, Rhode Island ratified the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to do so. It was a controversial decision, which occurred only after the United States had threatened a trade embargo against the state for non-compliance, with Rhode Island not having acceded to the Constitution almost three years after it was drawn up in 1787.

This picture is a historical depiction of Rhode Island's coat of arms, as illustrated by American engraver Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published in 1876 by Louis Prang. It was adopted by the state's General Assembly in 1881 and came into effect on 1 February 1882. The legislation stated: "The arms of the state are a golden anchor on a blue field, and the motto thereof is the word 'Hope'". A similar design appears on the seal of Rhode Island and other symbols of the state.

Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew Shiva

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