Wikipedia:Today's featured list/November 2015
|
Featured list tools: |
November 2
American rapper and music producer Kanye West has released seven studio albums, two live albums, three video albums, four mixtapes, one hundred nine singles and ninety-three music videos. West has sold over 21 million albums and 66 million digital downloads in the United States alone, making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all time. All seven of his studio albums have been certified at least platinum in the United States. In 2003, West collaborated with rapper Twista and singer Jamie Foxx on the song "Slow Jamz", which became West's first single to top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. West's debut album, The College Dropout, was released in February 2004. The album peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. West then released his second studio album, Late Registration, in August 2005. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 860,000 copies. Graduation, West's third studio album, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and shipped over 957,000 units in its first week, breaking the record set by his previous album. (Full list...)
November 6
Between 19 October 2005 and 30 September 2009, the Parliament of Norway consisted of 169 members from 7 parties and 19 constituencies, elected during the Norwegian parliamentary election on 11 and 12 September 2005. The Red-Green Coalition, consisting of the Labour Party (61 members), the Socialist Left Party (15 members) and the Centre Party (11 members) gained a majority and created Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet. The majority cabinet lasted the entire session and was reelected in the 2009 election. The opposition consisted of four parties: the Progress Party (38 members), the Conservative Party (23 members), the Christian Democratic Party (11 members) and the Liberal Party (10 members). Members of the Parliament of Norway are elected based on party-list proportional representation in plural member constituencies. This means that representatives from different political parties are elected from 19 constituencies, which are identical to the 19 counties. The electorate does not vote for individuals but rather for party lists, with a ranked list of candidates nominated by the party. (Full list...)
November 9
The light rail transit system MetroLink has 37 stations serving the Greater St. Louis area in the United States. The system is operated by the Bi-State Development Agency, which since 2003 has done business as Metro. With an average weekday ridership of 56,900 in 2014, MetroLink is the twelfth-busiest light rail system in the United States. Thirteen stations are served only by the Red Line, 9 stations only by the Blue Line, and 15 stations by both lines. Twelve stations are located in St. Louis, Missouri, 14 in St. Louis County, Missouri, and 11 in St. Clair County, Illinois. Central West End is the busiest station by daily ridership, while Sunnen is the least busy. MetroLink began service on July 31, 1993 with the opening of the Red Line segment from North Hanley to 5th & Missouri. An infill station at East Riverfront and an extension to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (pictured) opened in 1994, followed by a second station at the airport in 1998. Since then, the system has had two major expansions. (Full list...)
November 13
New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde has received 29 awards from 83 nominations. Lorde released her debut EP, The Love Club EP, and her debut studio album, Pure Heroine, in 2013. She won a New Zealand Music Award for the former in 2013 and a Taite Music Prize for the latter in 2014. Her debut single "Royals" earned multiple awards and nominations from 2013 to 2014, including one APRA Award, one Billboard Music Award and one New Zealand Music Award. At the 2014 Grammy Awards, the single won in two categories: Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Lorde herself won one MTV Europe Music Award and two New Zealand Music Awards in 2013, as well as a Billboard Music Award for Best New Artist the following year. The 2014 single "Yellow Flicker Beat", from the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, earned Lorde a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song and a nomination for Best Song at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards in 2015. (Full list...)
November 16
The U.S. state of California contains 482 municipalities in its 58 counties. California, located on the West Coast of the United States, is the most populous state and the third largest by area after Alaska and Texas. The state has been inhabited by numerous Native American peoples since antiquity. The Spanish, the Russians, and other Europeans began exploring and colonizing the area in the 16th and 17th centuries; the Spanish established their first California mission at what is now San Diego in 1769. Of the 482 municipalities, one, San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge pictured), is a consolidated city–county. California law makes no distinction between "city" and "town", and municipalities may use either term in their official names. According to the 2010 United States Census, 30,908,614 of California's 37,253,956 residents lived in urban areas, accounting for 82.97% of the population. The first municipality to incorporate was Sacramento on February 27, 1850, while the most recent was Jurupa Valley on July 1, 2011. The largest municipality by population and land area is Los Angeles with 3,792,621 residents and 468.67 square miles (1,213.8 km2). (Full list...)
November 20
One hundred thirty entries of sculpture have been designated as National Treasures of Japan, including groups of related sculptures that have been joined to form single entries. The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. These sculptures adhere to the current definition, and have been designated national treasures since the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties came into force on June 9, 1951. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". The sculpture entries include those from Classical and early Feudal Japan of the 7th-century Asuka period to the 13th-century Kamakura period. They depict Buddhist (Ashura pictured) and Shintō deities or priests venerated as founders of temples. Some of the most ancient sculptures were imported directly from China. (This list is part of a featured topic: National Treasures of Japan.)
November 23
The 2011 film The Artist received awards and nominations in a variety of categories. Premiering at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2011, The Artist is a French romantic comedy–drama film directed by Michel Hazanavicius and filmed in the style of a black and white silent film. It stars Jean Dujardin (pictured) as George Valentin, a silent film star whose career suffers from the rise of the talkies. At the 84th Academy Awards, the film received ten nominations. It went on to win five awards including Best Picture, Best Directing for Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Dujardin. The Artist became only the second silent film in Oscar history to win Best Picture after Wings, the inaugural Best Picture winner. The film earned six nominations at the 69th Golden Globes, winning three awards including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Dujardin. At the 65th British Academy Film Awards, the film received twelve nominations, and won seven awards including Best Film. (Full list...)
November 27
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in the American promotion WWE. It was originally known as the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship and began as a regional championship created by and defended in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Following the title's introduction in 1975, Harley Race became the inaugural champion on January 1. In March 2001, the United States Championship became a title for the then-WWF (now WWE). The championship is contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes rather than contend in direct competition. Overall, there have been 81 different champions. Ric Flair (pictured) holds the record for having the most reigns at six, while John Cena holds the record for most reigns under the WWE banner at five. Lex Luger's third reign is the longest by any champion, at 523 days. The current champion is Alberto Del Rio, who is in his first reign. (Full list...)
November 30
Twelve U.S. states have designated a horse breed as the official state horse. The first state horse was designated in Vermont in 1961. The most recent state designations occurred in 2010, when North Carolina and South Carolina both declared state breeds. Some breeds, such as the Morgan horse (pictured) in Vermont and Massachusetts, were named as the state horse because of the close connection between the history of the breed and the state. Others, including the Tennessee Walking Horse and the Missouri Fox Trotter, include the state in the official breed name. Schoolchildren have been persuasive lobbyists for the cause of some state horses, such as the Colonial Spanish Horse being named the state horse of North Carolina due to the presence of Spanish-descended Banker horses in the Outer Banks. Others have been brought to official status through the lobbying efforts of their breed registries. In addition to being state symbols in their own right, horses have appeared in state symbols; for example, a horse's head appears on the Seal of New Jersey. (Full list...)