User:AJona1992/FA

VGA

June

June 1

The 1910 Cuba hurricane was said to be one of the worst tropical cyclones that has ever hit Cuba. The storm formed in the southern Caribbean Sea on October 9, 1910. It grew stronger as it moved northwest. It then made landfall on the western end of Cuba. The storm made a loop over open water, and then began moving towards the United States. After crossing Florida, the storm moved near the rest of the southeastern United States and passed out to sea.

Because of the storm's loop, some reports said it was actually two hurricanes. In Cuba, the storm was one of the worst disasters in the island's history. There was bad damage and thousands of people lost their homes. In Florida, the storm also caused damage and caused flooding in some areas. It is not known exactly how much damage the storm caused. However, losses in Havana, Cuba were over $1 million. At least 100 people died in Cuba alone. (more...)

June 2

American Airlines Flight 11 was the first hijacked airplane of the September 11, 2001 attacks. It crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The American Airlines airplane was a Boeing 767. It was scheduled to fly from Logan International Airport in Boston to Los Angeles International Airport. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the hijackers forced their way into the cockpit. One of the hijackers was a trained pilot. He took the controls of the aircraft and flew it into the North Tower.

All 92 people on the airplane died in the crash—11 crew members and 81 passengers; 5 of them were hijackers. The time of the crash was 08:46 Eastern Daylight Time. Many people in the street saw the crash. It was also recorded on movie by French moviemakers. The crash, and the fire that started right after the crash, made the North Tower collapse. The attack killed and hurt thousands of people. (more...)

Recently featured: 1910 Cuba hurricane

June 3

Ana Ivanović (Serbian: Ана Ивановић listen ) born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade, Serbia, is a Serbian tennis player. As of October 10, 2011, she is ranked as the number 20 player in the world. She was the number 1 player for ten weeks from June to September 2008. She won the French Open in 2008 and came second there in 2007. She also came second at the Australian Open in 2008. She has also played tennis for Serbia in the international tournament called the Fed Cup.

Ivanović is very tall, and is famous for the way she plays. She is best known for her powerful serve. Although she is Serbian, Ivanović currently lives in Basel, Switzerland. As of October 2011, she has earned over $8 million during her tennis career. Outside tennis, she is interested in clothes and fashion, and is an ambassador for the worldwide charity for children, UNICEF. (more...)

Recently featured: American Airlines Flight 11 – 1910 Cuba hurricane

June 4

William Franklin Graham, Jr. (born November 7, 1918) better known as Billy Graham, is an American Evangelical Christian minister and evangelist. He is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has been a spiritual advisor to several U.S. presidents. Graham has preached in person to more people than anyone else who has ever lived. Until 2002, Graham's lifetime audience, with radio and television broadcasts, was more than two billion people. Graham has met every United States President since Harry Truman. He has received many honors including the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (more...)

Recently featured: Ana Ivanović – American Airlines Flight 11 – 1910 Cuba hurricane

June 5

Anna Sergeevna Kournikova (born June 7, 1981, in Moscow, Russia, then USSR) (Russian: Анна Сергеевна Курникова) is a Russian model and retired professional tennis player. She has won two Grand Slam doubles tournaments, both with Swiss player Martina Hingis. In 1999, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said she was the best doubles player in the world. She has also played tennis for Russia in an international competition called the Fed Cup.

Kournikova played in her last Grand Slam tournament in 2009. Since then she has modeled clothes and played in exhibition tennis matches. Although she was born in Russia, she lives in Miami, Florida, in the United States. She has appeared in several advertisements mainly about tennis. As of July 2008, her boyfriend is Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. (more...)

Recently featured: Billy Graham – Ana Ivanović – American Airlines Flight 11

June 6

The Blackpool tramway is a tramway that runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood, on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The tramway was built in 1885. It is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world and is the only one of the earliest tramways that is still in operation in the United Kingdom.

The tramway is owned by Blackpool Borough Council and is run by Blackpool Transport as part of the Metro Coastlines network. The tramway runs for 11 miles (17.7 km), and over 6,500,000 people travel on it each year. (more...)

Recently featured: Anna Kournikova – Billy Graham – Ana Ivanović

June 7

A baseball uniform is a kind of clothing that baseball players wear. They mostly do this to show that their job is related to playing the sport, baseball. Most baseball uniforms have the names and uniform numbers of players who wear them on the uniform somewhere, usually on the backs of the uniforms to tell different baseball players from each other. Baseball shirts, pants, shoes, socks, caps, and helmets are parts of baseball uniforms. Players also wear gloves, but they are not considered part of the uniform, since the players can choose their own glove. Most uniforms have different logos and colours to tell which team is which.

Baseball uniforms were first worn by the New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club in the 1800s. Their uniforms were pants made of blue wool, white flannel shirts and straw hats. More items, ideas, and many other improvements were done and added to baseball uniforms over the years. The style of baseball uniforms also changed, little by little over time. (more...)

Recently featured: Blackpool tramway - Anna Kournikova – Billy Graham

June 8

Bloc Party are a British indie rock band. There are four people in the band. Kele Okereke does the vocals and plays rhythm guitar, Russell Lissack plays the lead guitar, Gordon Moakes plays bass guitar and Matt Tong plays the drums. The band's music has been compared to bands like The Cure, Gang of Four and The Strokes.

The band formed at the 1999 Reading Festival. They went through many names before Bloc Party was chosen in 2003. Moakes joined after reading an advertisement in NME magazine. Tong was picked through an audition. Bloc Party was first noticed by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos a copy of its music demo, "She's Hearing Voices". This was later released as a single. (more...)

Recently featured: Baseball uniform - Blackpool tramway - Anna Kournikova

June 9

Sir Robert (Bobby) William Robson (18 February 1933– 31 July 2009) was a former English association footballer and manager. In his playing career he played almost 600 matches and scored over 100 goals. He also played for the England national team. He scored four goals in 20 games for them.

Robson managed Fulham F.C. and Ipswich Town F.C. He then managed the England national football team for eight years, from 1982 to 1990. He led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990. He left England to manage football teams in Europe. This included clubs from Holland, Portugal and Spain. Robson came back to England to manage Newcastle United F.C. in 1999. Robson was diagnosed with lung cancer, which was described as terminal in 2007. He died in 2009. (more...)

Recently featured: Baseball uniform - Blackpool tramway - Anna Kournikova

June 10

The City of Manchester Stadium is a stadium in Manchester, England. It is also called the Etihad Stadium, COMS or Eastlands. The stadium was designed by Arup and built by John Laing. It was first designed as part of Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at a cost of £110 million. After the Games, it was turned into a football stadium. It became the home of Manchester City F.C. who moved there from Maine Road in 2003 after signing a 250-year lease.

The stadium is shaped like a bowl. It has two levels all the way around. There is a third level along the two side stands. As of the start of the 2010/2011 season, it is the fifth-largest stadium in the FA Premier League and the twelfth-largest in the United Kingdom, with 47,726 seats. The highest attendance for a football game at the stadium was on 5 December 2009 when 47,348 fans watched Manchester City play Chelsea. On 14 May 2008, it hosted the UEFA Cup Final. (more...)

Recently featured: Bobby Robson - Baseball uniform - Blackpool tramway

June 11

Crich Tramway Village is an open-air museum of trams and tramways, in Crich, (listen ), Derbyshire, England. It is the home of the National Tramway Museum. It is set up as an Edwardian village and has a street with shops which include a sweet shop, café and gift shop. Other buildings in the open-air museum are the Red Lion Pub from Stoke-on-Trent, Derby Assembly Rooms, Burnley Tramways Offices and the tram sheds and displays. There are tram lines which go out for about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village. There is also a collection of old street furniture from around the United Kingdom.

The trams that are in the museum used to run on tramlines along the streets of different towns and cities. Most of the trams at Crich were used in the United Kingdom before the 1960s. Some are from other countries. Many were saved and restored after the tram services in the cities stopped. (more...)

Recently featured: City of Manchester Stadium - Bobby Robson - Baseball uniform

June 12

Daniela Hantuchová (born April 23, 1983 in Poprad, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) is a Slovak professional tennis player. As of October 2011, she is ranked as World No. 25 in women's singles tennis and 29th in doubles. In the past, she has ranked as both women's singles and doubles World No. 5. She reached the semi-final of the 2008 Australian Open. She played tennis for Slovakia in an international competition called the Fed Cup, and also in the Olympic Games.

As of October 2011, she has won over $7.9 million from playing tennis. She is currently working with some coaches who work for the Sanchez-Casal Academy, usually Angel Gimenez and Eduardo Nicolas. Her Women's Tennis Association Tour mentor was Martina Navratilova. Navratilova was her doubles partner for a while in early 2005. Outside tennis, she has modelled clothes and has been in some television advertisements. (more...)

Recently featured: Crich Tramway Village - City of Manchester Stadium - Bobby Robson

June 13

The Epping Ongar Railway is a preserved railway. It runs along the last section of the old Great Eastern Railway and London Underground Central line branch line. The line runs between Epping and Ongar. There is also an intermediate stop at North Weald. The line was reopened in late 2004 after 10 years of being closed. It runs a Sunday and Bank Holiday service using a Class 117 diesel multiple unit. The service runs between Ongar and Coopersale. The service is provided by volunteers who take care for the line as well as run the trains. The land and infrastructure are owned by Epping Ongar Railway Ltd. (more...)

Recently featured: Daniela Hantuchová - Crich Tramway Village - City of Manchester Stadium

June 14

Evolution is a scientific theory used by biologists. It explains how animals and plants changed over a long time, and how they have come to be the way they are. The Earth has been around for a very long time. By doing research on the layers of rock, we can find out about its past. That kind of research is called historical geology.

We know that living things have changed over time, because we can see their remains in the rocks. These remains are called 'fossils'. So we know that the animals and plants of today are different from those of long ago. And the further we go back, the more different the fossils are. How has this come about? Evolution has taken place. That evolution has taken place is a fact, because it is overwhelmingly supported by many lines of evidence. At the same time, evolutionary questions are still being actively researched by biologists. Comparison of DNA sequences allows organisms to be grouped by how similar their sequences are. In 2010 an analysis compared sequences to phylogenetic trees, and supported the idea of common descent. There is now "strong quantitative support, by a formal test", for the unity of life. (more...)

Recently featured: Epping Ongar Railway - Daniela Hantuchová - Crich Tramway Village

June 15

Geisha (芸者) or Geigi (芸妓) are traditional female Japanese entertainers. They are skilled at different Japanese arts, like playing classical Japanese music, dancing and poetry. Some people believe that geisha are prostitutes, but this is not true. The term "geisha" is made of two Japanese words, 芸 (gei) meaning "art" and 者 (sha) meaning "person who does" or "to be employed in". The most literal translation of geisha to English is "artist". Geisha are very respected and it is hard to become one.

Another common word to call geisha is Geiko (芸子). This word was made in Kyoto, and it is what they are called there. Kyoto is the city where the geisha tradition is older and stronger. Becoming a professional geisha (geiko) in Kyoto usually takes five years of training. (more...)

Recently featured: Evolution - Epping Ongar Railway - Daniela Hantuchová

June 16

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture used in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. It began in France in the 12th century after Romanesque architecture. It lasted into the 16th century when Renaissance architecture became popular. Its important features are the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress, which are explained below.

Gothic architecture is best known as the style of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and churches of Europe. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, universities, and also some houses. Many church buildings still remain from this period. Even the smallest Gothic churches are often very beautiful, while many of the larger churches and cathedrals are thought to be priceless works of art. Many are listed with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as World Heritage Sites. In the 19th century, the Gothic style became popular again, particularly for building churches and universities. This style is called Gothic Revival architecture. (more...)

Recently featured: Geisha - Evolution - Epping Ongar Railway

June 17

Hermann Wilhelm Göring (12 January 1893 in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany – 15 October 1946 in Nuremberg, Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany) was a German politician and military leader of Germany. Between 1932 and 1945, he was President of the German Reichstag and also a minister of the Third Reich, under Adolf Hitler. In the Second World War, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the German air force. Göring was responsible for the creation of the concentration camps and the Gestapo, the official secret Nazi police. In 1941, he gave Reinhard Heydrich the order to arrange the Final Solution to kill millions of Jews.

Göring was one of the 25 people charged at the Nuremberg Trials. The court decided he was guilty. The judgment on 1 October 1946 said that he was to be hanged, but he killed himself by swallowing a tablet of Cyanide before he could be executed. (more...)

Recently featured: Gothic architecture - Geisha - Evolution

June 18

Hanami (花見, literally "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, especially cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻 sakura). The practice of Hanami is more than a thousand years old, and is still very popular in Japan today. It takes place in the Spring, whereas the custom of Momijigari (紅葉狩り) is celebrated in the Autumn. The blossoms only last for a week or two, usually from March to April. They are followed by the media, and waited for by most of the Japanese people. Full bloom (満開 mankai) usually comes about one week after the opening of the first blossoms (開花 kaika). Another week later, the blooming peak is over and the blossoms are falling from the trees.

A more ancient form of hanami also exists in Japan, which celebrates the plum blossoms (梅 ume) instead of cherry blossoms. This kind of hanami is popular among older people, because they are more calm than the sakura parties, which usually involve younger people and can sometimes be very crowded and noisy. (more...)

Recently featured: Hermann Göring - Gothic architecture - Geisha

June 19

Hurricane Vince was an unusual hurricane that began in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. It was part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The waters where it formed were thought to be too cold for tropical cyclones to exist. Vince was the 20th named storm and 12th hurricane of the season.

The storm that became Vince started out as an extratropical cyclone. It became a subtropical storm on October 8 to the southeast of the Azores. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not officially give the storm a name until the next day. Vince grew into a hurricane before beginning to weaken at sea. On October 11, it made landfall on the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. At that time, it was a tropical depression. It may have been the first storm to hit the area since a hurricane in 1842. Vince died out over Spain. However, it dropped rain in the country. What was left of the storm passed into the Mediterranean Sea. (more...)

Recently featured: Hanami - Hermann Göring - Gothic architecture

June 20

Ipswich Town Football Club (Ipswich Town) is an English football club. It is based in Ipswich in the county of Suffolk. The club was founded in 1878. The home stadium of the club is Portman Road.

Ipswich Town has played in the Football League Championship since 2002. The club has won the top division once, in 1962 and the FA Cup in 1978. They have also been successful in European football, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981. The chairman of the club is Marcus Evans and the current manager is Paul Jewell. Two of the club's previous managers have gone on to manage the England national football team, and one has gone on to manage the Scotland national football team. (more...)

Recently featured: Hurricane Vince - Hanami - Hermann Göring

June 21

Jessica Marie Alba (born on April 28, 1981 in Pomona, California) is an American actress. When she was 13 years old, she got her first acting job. It was in the movie Camp Nowhere. She became famous when acting in the television series Dark Angel (2000–02). Alba later acted in several movies, such as Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), and Good Luck Chuck (2007).

She has been listed in the "Hot 100" section of Maxim magazine every year from 2003 to 2007, and was voted "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. In March 2007, a picture of her was used on the cover of Playboy. Playboy did not ask her if they could use the picture or tell her they were going to use it. This caused a lawsuit that was later dropped. Alba has won several awards for her acting. These awards include the "Choice Actress" award at the Teen Choice Award and a Saturn Award. Both of these awards were for her acting in the series Dark Angel. (more...)

Recently featured: Ipswich Town F.C. - Hurricane Vince - Hanami

June 22

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. It is the fifth planet from the Sun. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant, because it is so large, and is made up mostly of gas. The other gas giants are Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jupiter has a mass of 1.8986×10²⁷ kg, or about 317.83 Earths. This is twice the mass of all the other planets in the Solar System put together.

Jupiter can be seen with the naked eye, without any special equipment. It was known to the ancient Romans, who named it after their god Jupiter (Latin: Iuppiter). Jupiter is the third brightest object in the night sky. Only the Earth's moon and Venus are brighter. Jupiter has at least 63 moons. Of these, 55 are very small and less than five km wide. The four largest moons of Jupiter are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. They are called the Galilean moons, because they were discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System. (more...)

Recently featured: Jessica Alba - Ipswich Town F.C. - Hurricane Vince

June 23

The Kingsway tramway subway is a cut-and-cover tunnel in central London. It was built for The London County Council to join two tramway systems called the "North Side" and "South Side". The tunnel opened for use in 1906. It originally was used by single deck tramcars only, but an upgrade between 1928 and 1931 meant that double deck trams could use it. The subway was closed in 1952. Part of the subway is now the Strand underpass, but the rest is largely untouched and still has tram tracks inside it. It is now a Grade II Listed structure. (more...)

Recently featured: Jupiter - Jessica Alba - Ipswich Town F.C.

June 24

Portman Road is an association football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted one senior England friendly international match. It has staged several other sports events including athletics meetings and international hockey matches. The stadium has also held several music concerts, including performances from R.E.M. and Elton John.

The stadium was changed a lot in the early 2000s. This increased the number of people it could hold from 22,600 to 30,311. It is the largest capacity football stadium in East Anglia. The record number of people in the ground of 38,010 was set in an FA Cup match against Leeds United in 1975. The stadium also has conference and food facilities, the "Sir Bobby Robson Suite", "Legends Bar" and a club store selling Ipswich Town souvenirs. (more...)

Recently featured: Kingsway tramway subway - Jupiter - Jessica Alba

June 25

Powderfinger is a rock band from Brisbane, Australia. The band started in 1989. Powderfinger had five members; Bernard Fanning (sings, plays guitar), Darren Middleton (plays guitar), Ian Haug (plays guitar), John Collins (plays bass guitar), and Jon Coghill (plays drums).

After some extended plays (EPs) that sold quite well, and making one full album, Powderfinger became popular in Australia with their second album; Double Allergic. Their third album, Internationalist, was even more popular and made them celebrities. It sold over 350,000 copies. Odyssey Number Five was their fourth album and was released in 2000. It is their most famous album; it was sold overseas in the United States and Canada. Powderfinger's next two albums were not as popular as the earlier ones, but still got to number one on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) charts. (more...)

Recently featured: Portman Road - Kingsway tramway subway - Jupiter

June 26

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Like Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, it is a "gas giant". The inside of Saturn is probably a core of iron, nickel, silicon and oxygen compounds, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, then a layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium and finally, an outer gaseous layer.

Saturn has 62 known moons orbiting the planet; 53 are officially named. The largest moon is Titan, which is larger in volume than the planet Mercury. Titan is the second-largest moon in the Solar System. The largest moon is Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. Also around Saturn there is a very large system of rings, made of ice with smaller amounts of rocks and dust. Saturn is about 1,400,000,000 km (869,000,000 mi) from the Sun. In the time it takes Saturn to complete one orbit of the Sun, or one Saturn year, the Earth has orbited 29.6 times, or 29.6 years on Earth. Saturn was named after the Roman god Saturnus (called Kronos in Greek mythology). Saturn's symbol is ♄ which is the symbol of Saturnus' sickle. (more...)

Recently featured: Powderfinger - Portman Road - Kingsway tramway subway

June 27

Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band. The band started in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. The state of California has been a theme in many of their songs. The members of the band are singer Anthony Kiedis, bass guitarist Flea, guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, and drummer Chad Smith. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have released nine studio albums. Their early albums were not very successful. The band's membership changed several times during the 1980s, but Kiedis and Flea have been with the band since it started. When Frusciante and Smith joined in 1989, Red Hot Chili Peppers' next album, Mother's Milk, was successful. It was the band's first album to appear on the Billboard music chart. While Red Hot Chili Peppers were on tour in 1992 after their fifth album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Frusciante left the band because of a drug addiction.

Dave Navarro became the new guitarist after Frusciante. Navarro and the other members of Red Hot Chili Peppers did not work together very well. The other members asked Navarro to leave the band in 1998, after one album. At this time, Frusciante had been making albums by himself. He was also suffering from a heroin addiction. When he was feeling better, Flea asked him to join Red Hot Chili Peppers again and Frusciante said yes. The band's next album, Californication (1999), was their most popular so far. Red Hot Chili Peppers kept recording and released another album soon afterwards. After this, the band went on a concert tour around the world. While they were doing so they released a best of album. After the tour, the band recorded and released the album Stadium Arcadium in 2006. (more...)

Recently featured: Saturn - Powderfinger - Portman Road

June 28

Dan Kelly (1861 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger and outlaw. The son of an Irish convict, he was the youngest brother of bushranger Ned Kelly. Dan and his brother killed three policemen. With two friends, they formed the Kelly Gang. Dan Kelly died during the famous siege of Glenrowan.

More books have been written about the Kelly Gang than any other subject in Australian history. The Kelly Gang were the subject of the world's first full length feature movie, The Story of the Kelly Gang, made in 1906. They robbed banks, took over whole towns, kept the people in Victoria and New South Wales frightened. For two years the Victorian police searched for them, locked up their friends and families, but could not find them. (more...)

Recently featured: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Saturn - Powderfinger

June 29

Tropical Depression Ten was the tenth tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The depression formed on August 13 from a tropical wave that entered the Atlantic Ocean on August 8. Because of strong wind shear, the depression stayed weak and did not strengthen much. The cyclone itself had no effect on land and did not cause any damage. It mostly died out on August 14, but its remains later helped to form another storm, Hurricane Katrina. Katrina became one of the worst hurricanes in the history of the United States. (more...)

Recently featured: Dan Kelly - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Saturn

June 30

The Victoria line is part of the London Underground network. It is a deep-level underground metro line that runs from Brixton in the south of London to the Walthamstow Central in the north-east. It started running in 1968. On the Tube map it is shown with a light blue colour. It is the fourth busiest line on the London Underground network. It is the only line on the Underground, other than the two-stop Waterloo & City line, which is completely underground. The only section of track to come above ground is the route to the depot from Seven Sisters to Northumberland Park.

The line has hump-backed stations which allow trains to store gravitational potential energy as they arrive and to then use this energy as they leave the stations. The stations are on top of small hills, or humps. As the train travels up the hill to the station its weight helps it to slow down. As the train leaves the station it travels down the hill, with gravity helping the train to speed up. This saves 5% energy and makes the trains run 9% faster. Each new platform built for the Victoria Line is 132.6 metres long. 183 million people use the Victoria line each year. (more...)

Recently featured: Tropical Depression Ten - Dan Kelly - Red Hot Chili Peppers

July

July 1

Tropical Storm Barry was a tropical cyclone that grew quickly. It made landfall on Florida in early June 2007. It was the second Atlantic named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Barry formed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved toward the northeast, reaching top wind speeds of 60 mph (95 km/h). It then weakened and first reached land near Tampa Bay, Florida. Barry quickly weakened after wind shear blew away most of the thunderstorms. Barry moved up the East Coast of the United States and by June 5, it was taken over by a bigger storm.

Rain from Barry in the province of Pinar del Río, Cuba, hurt three people and damaged 55 houses. In Florida, Barry caused heavy rain in an area that had been in drought. Flooding and wet roads killed two people in traffic accidents. Rough seas killed one surfer in Pinellas County, Florida. In Florida and Georgia, the rain helped firefighters fight bad wildfires. Damage from the storm was minor. (more...)

Recently featured: Victoria line - Tropical Depression Ten - Dan Kelly

July 2

The violin is a string instrument which is played with a bow. It has four strings. The strings are usually tuned to the notes G, D, A, and E. It is held between the left collar bone (near the shoulder) and the chin. Different notes are made by fingering with the left hand while bowing with the right. It has no frets or other markers. Players have to learn the exact place to put the fingers of the left hand and memorise them. Students learning to play a violin may put dots or stickers on the fingerboard to help them learn how to play.

The violin is the smallest and highest pitched string instrument. A person who plays the violin is called a violinist. A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier. The violin is important in European and Arabian music. No other instrument has played such an important part in Europe. The modern violin is about 400 years old. Similar string instruments have been around for almost 1000 years. By the time the modern orchestra started in the 17th century, the violin was fully developed. It became the most important orchestral instrument. Nearly every composer wrote for the violin. It is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, in orchestral music and in jazz. It is also used in folk music. The violin is sometimes called a "fiddle". Someone who plays it is a "fiddler". There is even a verb, "to fiddle", which means "to play the fiddle". This word can be used as a nickname for the violin. It is properly used when talking about folk music. (more...)

Recently featured: Tropical Storm Barry - Victoria line - Tropical Depression Ten

July 3

"Yellow" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson. It was for their first album Parachutes. The song's lyrics are a reference to band vocalist Chris Martin's unreturned love.

The song was released across the world in June 2000. It was the second single off the album following "Shiver". It was the lead single in the United States. The single reached number four in the UK Singles Chart. This gave the band their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. Helped by heavy rotation and usage in promotions, the song made the band very popular. Various recording artists worldwide have since made their own versions of "Yellow". It remains one of the band's most popular songs. (more...)

Recently featured: Violin - Tropical Storm Barry - Victoria line

July 4

Tropical Storm Gabrielle was a tropical storm that moved over eastern North Carolina before turning out to the sea. It was the seventh named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Gabrielle formed as a subtropical cyclone on September 8 about 385 miles (625 km) southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Wind shear affected the storm for much of its existence, although a brief decrease in the shear allowed the system to strengthen into a tropical storm. On September 9, Gabrielle made landfall on the coast of North Carolina. Turning to the northeast, the storm quickly weakened and died out on September 11. The storm dropped heavy rainfall near its actual landfall location but little precipitation in other areas. Total damage was minor, and there were no reported deaths. (more...)

Recently featured: "Yellow" - Violin - Tropical Storm Barry

July 5

Royal Rumble (2009) was a wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) made by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place in Detroit, Michigan at the Joe Louis Arena. The event was held on January 22, 2009. The event had the 22nd annual Royal Rumble match as the main event, which Randy Orton won. One of the matches was Jeff Hardy defending his WWE Championship against Edge. Another was John Cena defending his World Heavyweight Championship against John "Bradshaw" Layfield with his employee Shawn Michaels. A third match was Jack Swagger defending his ECW Championship against Matt Hardy. The last match was Beth Phoenix defending her WWE Women's Championship against Melina. The event had 450,000 households pay to see the event, down from the 2008 number of 533,000 the year before. (more...)

Recently featured: Tropical Storm Gabrielle - "Yellow" - Violin

July 6

Le Spectre de la rose is an 11-minute ballet in one scene. The story of the ballet is told in the program for the 1911 premiere: "When the curtain rises, a young girl returning from a ball is overcome with fatigue and falls asleep in an armchair. In her dream, the rose she holds becomes a genie, kisses her, and disappears at dawn."

Poet and critic Jean-Louis Vaudoyer created a scenario based on a poem of the same name by Théophile Gautier. He paired his scenario with Carl Maria von Weber's rondo for piano Aufforderung zum Tanz. Ballets Russes impresario Serge Diaghilev wanted to present Nijinsky in L'Aprés-midi d'un faune in 1911, but this ballet was not ready. Instead, he put Vaudoyer's scenario into production. Spectre was quickly choreographed by Michel Fokine to Hector Berlioz's orchestration of Weber's rondo. The sets and costumes were designed by Léon Bakst. (more...)

Recently featured: Royal Rumble (2009) - Tropical Storm Gabrielle - "Yellow"

July 7

The Mourning Dove (Latin: Zenaida macroura) is a member of the dove family (Columbidae). The number of individual Mourning Doves is estimated to be approximately 475 million. Mourning Doves are light grey and brown, and males and females look similar. The species mostly have one partner at a time. Both parents incubate and care for their chicks. Adult Mourning Doves usually eat only seeds. The young are fed crop milk by the parents.

It is hunted both for sport and meat. Up to 70 million birds are shot in the United States. Its mournful woo-oo-oo-oo call gives the bird its name. The bird is a strong flier, and can fly up to the speed of 88 km/h (55 mph). (more...)

Recently featured: Le Spectre de la rose - Royal Rumble (2009) - Tropical Storm Gabrielle

July 8

Selena is a biographical drama movie. It was released on March 21, 1997, by Warner Bros. Gregory Nava was the director and the screenwriter. The movie is about the singer Selena. She was murdered at age 23 by her friend, an ex-employee of her clothing stores. The movie also describes how Selena started in the music business and her family's problems. Jennifer Lopez (pictured) starred as Selena, and many music critics believe this movie made Lopez famous. Selena was produced by Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. (Selena's father), Moctesuma Esparza and Robert Katz. Lopez was given $1 million for her role as Selena, making her the highest-paid Hispanic woman ever, at the time. The movie soundtrack contained two unreleased songs, two tribute songs and two melodies. It reached number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified platinum for shipments of 1,000,000 copies in the United States.

The movie makers had a budget of $20 million to make this movie. They filmed the movie in Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Houston, Texas. Over 35,000 fans participated in the Houston Astrodome scene. The movie made $15,599,598 on its first week, the number one movie for that week. In total, it made $35,281,794 in 101 days. Selena had mostly good reviews from critics, though many thought the movie did not tell the true story of Selena. The movie won several ALMA Awards and Imagen Foundation Awards. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, MTV Movie Awards and a Young Artist Award. (more...)

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July 9

Le Dieu bleu (English: The Blue God) is a ballet in one act. The libretto was written by Jean Cocteau and Federico de Madrazo y Ochoa. The music was composed by Reynaldo Hahn. The ballet was choreographed by Michel Fokine, and its sets and costumes were designed by Léon Bakst. The ballet was first performed by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 May 1912. Nijinsky starred as The Blue God. The ballet was a failure. Critics thought Nijinsky's talent was wasted because he did more posing than actual dancing. Producer Sergei Diaghilev blamed Hahn's mediocre music for the ballet's failure. Le Dieu Bleu had three performances in Paris and three in London. The ballet was never revived. (more...)

Recently featured: Selena - Mourning Dove - Le Spectre de la rose