Wikipedia:Today's featured list/November 2017


November 3

David Malouf
David Malouf

The International DUBLIN Literary Award is an international literary award presented each year for a novel written in English or translated into English. It aims to promote excellence in world literature and is solely sponsored by Dublin City Council, Ireland. At 100,000, the award is one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The first award was made in 1996 to David Malouf (pictured) for his English language novel Remembering Babylon. Nominations are submitted by public libraries worldwide – over 400 library systems in 177 countries worldwide are invited to nominate books each year – from which the shortlist and the eventual winner are selected by an international panel of judges (which changes each year). The most recent winner of the award is José Eduardo Agualusa for A General Theory of Oblivion. (Full list...)


November 6

The star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
The star of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Queen Victoria appointed 19 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, plus an additional 28 honorary Knights Grand Cross, between the order's institution and her death on 22 January 1901. The Royal Victorian Order is an order of knighthood awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the Royal Household, royal family members, and the organisation of important royal events. It was instituted with five grades, Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, Commander, Member (fourth class) and Member (fifth class). The two highest conferred the status of knighthood on holders. The first two appointments were to Queen Victoria's sons, Albert, Prince of Wales, and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who both received the highest grade on 6 May 1896. Of Queen Victoria's 19 Knights Grand Cross appointments, 6 were to Princes of the United Kingdom—her own children, grandchildren or other close relatives—and a further 7 to those already holding a peerage. (Full list...)


November 10

Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio

American actor Leonardo DiCaprio has won many awards for his film work. DiCaprio has been nominated for six Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning one award each from them and three Golden Globe Awards from eleven nominations. DiCaprio received three Young Artist Award nominations for his roles in television shows during the early 1990s. For playing a mentally challenged boy in the drama What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), he received nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. DiCaprio was nominated for his first Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor for his role as Howard Hughes in the biographical drama The Aviator (2004); he also won a Golden Globe Award in the same category. He co-produced and played stockbroker Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The role of Hugh Glass in the 2015 film The Revenant won DiCaprio the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and Academy Award for Best Actor. (This list is part of a featured topic: Overview of Leonardo DiCaprio.)


November 13

Drug overdose and intoxication are significant causes of accidental death, and can also be used as a form of suicide. Death can occur from overdosing on a single or multiple drugs, or from combined drug intoxication due to poly drug use. Poly drug use often carries more risk than use of a single drug, due to an increase in side effects, and drug synergy. Drug use and overdoses increased significantly in the 1800s due to the commercialization and availability of certain drugs. For example, while opium and coca had been used for centuries, their active ingredients, morphine and the cocaine alkaloid, were not isolated until 1803 and 1855 respectively. Cocaine and various opiates were subsequently mass-produced and sold openly and legally in the Western world, resulting in widespread misuse and addiction. Efforts to prohibit various drugs began to be enacted in the early 20th century, though the effectiveness of such policies is debated. Deaths from drug overdoses are increasing. Between 2000 and 2014, fatal overdoses rose 137% in the United States, causing nearly half a million deaths in that period, and have also been continually increasing in Australia, Scotland, England, and Wales. (Full list...)


November 17

The Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the United States and internationally. The award is given to the performers, producers, audio engineers and mastering engineers for vocal or instrumental albums with 51% of new recorded songs. Albums of previously released recordings, such as reissues, compilations of old recordings and greatest hits albums packages are not eligible. Juan Luis Guerra has won the most awards in the category with four wins (one as a producer). Alejandro Sanz and Juanes have won three times each. They are followed by Calle 13 with two winning albums. Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira became the first female recipient in 2006. Most nominated albums were recorded in Spanish language, though Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Maria Rita, Tribalistas and Caetano Veloso have been nominated for albums recorded in Portuguese language, with Lins winning the award in 2005 for Cantando Histórias. (Full list...)


November 20

Frank Otis House in Fairview-Riverside State Park
Frank Otis House in Fairview-Riverside State Park

The state of Louisiana has 22 state parks, which are governed by the Office of Lieutenant Governor, a division of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Louisiana's state park system began in 1934 when the state passed legislation that created the State Parks Commission of Louisiana. In 1952, legislation broadened the role of the commission to include the development of outdoor recreation programs and resources. After the State Parks Commission of Louisiana was formed in 1934, 7 sites were acquired for use as state parks. During World War II, the rate of new park acquisition declined with the addition of only one new site, Sam Houston Jones State Park in 1944. In 1966, the National Park Service reviewed Louisiana's state parks system and made many recommendations, which led to specific guidelines and requirements for state parks. Louisiana state parks are selected on the criteria that they must be natural areas of unique or exceptional scenic value. (Full list...)


November 24

Imran Khan
Imran Khan

Twenty-four five-wicket hauls were taken by Imran Khan (pictured) during his career in international cricket. Khan is a retired fast bowler who also captained Pakistan. He made his Test debut in 1971 against England at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. His first Test five-wicket haul came six years later, in 1977, against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Starting his One Day International (ODI) career in August 1974 against England at Trent Bridge, Khan's solitary ODI five-wicket haul— 6 wickets for 14 runs—came in 1985 against India in 1985 in Sharjah. In Test cricket, Khan's career-best figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium, in 1982. Khan was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1983, and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in January 2009. As of October 2017, he is third in the list of five-wicket haul takers for Pakistan, all formats of the game combined. (Full list...)


November 27

Karthi
Karthi

The 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film Madras has won 24 awards from 51 nominations. Madras was written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. The film features Karthi (pictured) and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles, with Kalaiyarasan, Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards South, Madras was nominated in eleven categories, winning Critics Award for Best Actor (Karthi), Best Female Debut (Tresa), Best Supporting Actress (Riythvika) and Best Male Playback Singer (Pradeep Kumar for "Aagayam Theepidicha"). At the 9th Vijay Awards, it received fifteen nominations and won three, Best Supporting Actor, Best Male Playback Singer and a Special Jury Award. Madras received thirteen nominations at the 4th South Indian International Movie Awards ceremony and won six awards, including those for Best Director and Best Male Playback Singer. (Full list...)