Wikipedia:Today's featured list/August 2017
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August 4
The National Natural Landmarks in Colorado include 15 of the almost 600 National Natural Landmarks (NNLs) in the United States; fourteen fully within Colorado and one shared with Wyoming. They cover areas of geological, biological and historical importance, and include lakes, mountains, rock formations and numerous fossil sites. The landmarks are located in 13 of the state's 64 counties. Four counties each contain all or part of two NNLs, while two landmarks are split between two counties. The first two designations, Slumgullion Earthflow and Summit Lake, were made in 1965, while the most recent designation, the West Bijou Site, was made in 2016. The National Natural Landmarks Program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NNL criteria and, after notifying the owners, makes nomination recommendations. The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NNL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation. (Full list...)
August 7
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The filmography of Laurel and Hardy, a motion picture comedy team, consists of 106 films released between 1921 and 1951. Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts, 45 sound shorts, and 27 full-length sound feature films. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were established as film comedians prior to their teaming, with Laurel appearing in over 50 silent films and Hardy in over 250. Although they first worked together in the film The Lucky Dog (1921), this was a chance pairing and it was not until 1926 when both separately signed contracts with the Hal Roach film studio that they appeared in movie shorts together. Laurel and Hardy officially became a team the following year, in their eleventh silent short film The Second Hundred Years (1927). The pair remained with the Roach studio until 1940. Between 1941 and 1945 they appeared in eight features and one short for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After finishing their movie commitments Laurel and Hardy concentrated on stage shows, embarking on a music hall tour of Great Britain. (Full list...)
August 11
Spanish football club FC Barcelona's seasons have resulted in twenty-four La Liga championships, twenty-nine Copa del Rey wins and five European Cups. The club was formed in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Spanish men led by Joan Gamper, and played its first friendly match on 8 December 1899. Initially Barcelona played against other local clubs in various Catalan tournaments, but in 1929 the club became one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's first truly national league. Barcelona enjoyed a successful start in La Liga, winning the championship in the competition's first season. Barcelona won five trophies in the 1951–52 season, becoming known as "Barça of the Five Cups", and went on to win La Liga three times, the Copa del Rey five times and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup once during the 1950s. In 1991, Johan Cruyff led the club to its first league title for six years and repeated the feat the following season when the club also won the European Cup for the first time. In 2009, Barcelona beat Manchester United 2–0 in the Champions League final, having already won La Liga and the Copa del Rey that season, to become the first Spanish side to complete the treble. (Full list...)
August 14
The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, known as First Secretary from 1951 to 1976, is the highest office within the Communist Party of Vietnam. The General Secretaryship was the second-highest office within the party when Hồ Chí Minh was Chairman, a post which existed from 1951 to 1969. The general secretary is also the Secretary of the Central Military Commission, the leading Party organ on military affairs. For a period in its history, the position of general secretary has been synonymous with leader of Vietnam. The current general secretary is Nguyễn Phú Trọng (pictured), and he is ranked first in the Political Bureau. Trần Phú, one of the founding members of the Indochinese Communist Party, was the party's first general secretary. A year after being elected, he was sentenced to prison by the French authorities because of anti-French activities. He died in prison the same year. Trần's de facto successor was Lê Hồng Phong who led the party through the office of General Secretary of the Overseas Executive Committee. (Full list...)
August 18
Romanian singer Alexandra Stan has released three studio albums and nineteen singles. Stan's career began in 2009, when music producers Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi heard her singing at a karaoke bar and offered her a contract under their management, Maan Studio. Her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)" (2009), was heavily broadcast on native radio stations. In 2011, the singer released her breakthrough single "Mr. Saxobeat", which was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number one on the Romanian Top 100 for eight consecutive weeks. The single was subsequently released internationally, reaching the top position in eight countries across Europe including Germany and Italy. In August 2011, Stan's debut album, Saxobeats, was made available and managed to peak within the top forty in Austria, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. Stan's second studio album, Unlocked, was released in August 2014, including the top seventy singles "Cherry Pop" and "Dance"; both gained popularity in Japan. Her third studio album, Alesta, was released in 2016. (Full list...)
August 21
Volumes 49 to 72 of the Naruto manga series were published between January 4, 2010, and February 4, 2015. The plot of Naruto, written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, is divided in two; the second part is known as Part II. The series is about the eponymous character Naruto Uzumaki, who wants recognition and respect from the fellow villagers, and to become the Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. Part II, set two-and-a-half years after the conclusion of Part I, follows the return of the ninja Uzumaki to Konohagakure from two-and-a-half years of training. Naruto was published in individual chapters by Shueisha in Weekly Shōnen Jump and later collected in tankōbon format with extra content. The English version (serialization) of the Naruto manga, licensed by Viz Media, is published in North America in the Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine. An anime adaptation of Part II, produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo, premiered on February 15, 2007, on TV Tokyo as Naruto: Shippuden. (Full list...)
August 25
The 2009 science fiction film Avatar garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for its direction, cinematography and visual effects. Written and directed by James Cameron (pictured), the film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. At the 82nd Academy Awards, the film won for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects, and was nominated for a total of nine awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It garnered four nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, and received two awards for Best Film – Drama and Best Director. Avatar received recognition from a number of North American critics' associations. In December 2009, the American Film Institute recognized the film and Cameron's advances in CGI effects with their yearly "AFI Moments of Significance" award, claiming it "will have profound effects on the future of the art form". (Full list...)
August 28
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The Alabama Crimson Tide college football team has had 27 head coaches, and 1 interim head coach, since it began play during the 1892 season. Twelve coaches have led the Crimson Tide in postseason bowl games. Eight of those coaches also won conference championships: Wallace Wade captured four as a member of the Southern Conference and Frank Thomas, Harold Drew, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, Mike DuBose, and Nick Saban (pictured) won a combined 25 as a member of the Southeastern Conference. During their tenures, Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Stallings, and Saban each won national championships with the Crimson Tide. Bryant is the leader in seasons coached and games won, with 232 victories during his 25 years with the program. Saban has the highest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with .866. Of the 28 different head coaches who have led the Crimson Tide, Wade, Thomas, Bryant, and Stallings have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. (Full list...)