August 1

SMS Hindenburg was abattlecruiser of theImperial German Navy, the third ship of theDerfflinger class. She was named in honor of Field MarshalPaul von Hindenburg, the victor of theBattle of Tannenberg and theBattle of the Masurian Lakes, as well as Supreme Commander of the German armies from 1916. The ship was the lastcapital ship of any type built for the German navy duringWorld War I.Hindenburg took part in short fleet operations as theflagship ofI Scouting Group in1917–18, but saw no major action. Theproposed final sortie of the fleet in the last weeks of the war ended whenthe crews of the capital ships mutinied.Hindenburg was interned with other German battlecruisers atScapa Flow in November 1918. Rear AdmiralLudwig von Reuter ordered thatthe ships be scuttled on 21 June 1919;Hindenburg was the last of the ships to sink. She was raised in 1930 andbroken up for scrap the following two years.(This article is part of afeatured topic:Battlecruisers of Germany.) (Full article...)

August 2

Value theory studies the nature, sources, and types ofvalues. Value is the worth of something, usually understood as covering both positive and negative degrees corresponding to the termsgood andbad. Values influence many human endeavors related toemotion,decision-making, andaction. Value theorists distinguish betweenintrinsic and instrumental value. An entity hasintrinsic value if it is good in itself, independent of external factors. An entity has instrumental value if it is useful as a means leading to other good things. Various debates examine whetherpleasure,desire, or something else is the source of intrinsic value. Valuerealists state that values haveobjective existence. Anti-realists reject this, with some seeing values as subjective human creations and others viewing value statements as meaningless. Value theory is an interdisciplinary field and itsmethods range fromreliance on intuitions andthought experiments to the analysis of language andsurveys. Its roots lie inantiquity as reflections on thehighest good that humans should pursue. (Full article...)

August 3

Mario Party: The Top 100 is a 2017party video game developed byNDcube and published byNintendo for theNintendo 3DS. It is the fifthhandheld game in theMario Party series, as well as the third and finalMario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The game was released in North America in November 2017, and elsewhere in December.Mario Party: The Top 100 is primarily a compilation of 100minigames from across the series, specifically ones from thehome console installments. It offers severalgame modes centered around playing the minigames, including a mode that sees traditionalMario Partygameplay with up to fourcharacters from theMario franchise, controlled by humans orartificial intelligence, competing in an interactiveboard game. The game received mixed reviews, with general praise for its premise as a minigame compilation and criticism toward its lack of content aside from the minigames. A similar entry,Mario Party Superstars, which also features 100 minigames from the home console games, was released for theNintendo Switch in 2021. (Full article...)

August 4

Seal of Missouri

2020 Missouri Amendment 2, also called the Medicaid Expansion Initiative, was aballot measure to amend theConstitution of Missouri toexpand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The initiative was on the August 4, 2020, primary ballot and passed with 53.27% of the vote. FollowingMedicaid expansion initiatives in other states,Republican lawmakers in Nebraska and Utah added work requirements to their states' expansions; supporters aimed to prevent this by proposing stateconstitutional amendments for future Medicaid expansion initiatives. The measure was supported most in urban areas and opposed in rural areas. After a delay due to a lack of funding from theMissouri General Assembly and resulting litigation, the initiative was slowly implemented in October 2021. Republican lawmakers attempted to roll back the program and add a work requirement through a state constitutional amendment, which failed after theUnited States Supreme Court prevented its implementation. (Full article...)

August 5

The Apollo Theatre in 2012

Thecollapse of the Apollo Theatre took place on the evening of March 31, 2023, when a tornado struckBelvidere, Illinois, in the United States. A showthere, headlined by thedeath metal bandMorbid Angel, had begun despite advance knowledge of imminent severe weather. Winds of 90 to 100 miles per hour (140 to 160 km/h) caused the failure of the lower roof structure; large amounts of debris fell into the sold-out venue, burying many people. Concertgoers removed debris prior to the arrival of the Belvidere Fire Department. One concertgoer was pronounced dead at the scene and 27 were taken to the hospital, of 48 who suffered non-fatal injuries. The street-facing facade and the upper roof structure were found on the street after the tornado. Following the collapse, the lack of safety protocols despite warning became the subject of multiple lawsuits. The Apollo Theatre was condemned the next day, but reopened that September. (Full article...)

August 6

Silver coin of Constans II

Constans II (died 411) was the son of theWestern Roman emperorConstantine III. When his father rebelled against the ruling emperorHonorius and the army inBritain acclaimed him asemperor in early 407, Constans was amonk. He was summoned toGaul, appointed to the position ofcaesar (heir) and swiftly married so that adynasty could be founded. Honorius acknowledged Constantine as co-emperor in early 409 and Constantine immediately raised Constans to the position of emperor, theoretically equal in rank to Honorius as well as to Constantine. Later in 409 Constans was sent to Hispania (Spain) to quash a revolt, but suffered a defeat and withdrew to Arelate (modernArles). In 410, Constans was again sent to Hispania with an army. The rebels had strengthened their forces with barbarians and won a battle against Constans; he withdrew north and was defeated again and killed atVienne early in 411. The rebels then besieged Constantine in Arelate and killed him. (Full article...)

August 7

Roy Marshall (1930–1992) was a Barbadiancricketer who played in fourTest matches for theWest Indies and had an extensive domestic career withHampshire in Englishcounty cricket. He was born inSaint Thomas, Barbados. Marshall made his debut infirst-class cricket at the age of 15 forBarbados in January 1946, and established himself in the side as an attackingopening batter. He was selected in the West Indian team and played Test cricket between 1951 and 1952, making two appearances apiece againstAustralia andNew Zealand. With players surpassing him for Test selection, he decided to end his brief international career and pursue a career in English county cricket. He joined Hampshire in 1953 and established himself as an opening batsman. Marshall became a consistent and attacking batsman; in 1959, he was chosen as one of fiveWisden Cricketers of the Year. He wonhis first County Championship in 1961, and was appointed Hampshire's first professionalcaptain between 1966 and 1970. (Full article...)

August 8

Percy Sillitoe

The Diamond Smugglers is a non-fiction book byIan Fleming published in November 1957. The book is based on two weeks of interviews Fleming undertook with John Collard, a member of the International Diamond Security Organisation (IDSO) and a former member ofMI5; the IDSO was headed bySir Percy Sillitoe(pictured), the ex-head of MI5 who worked for the diamond companyDe Beers. The IDSO was formed by Sillitoe to combat the smuggling of diamonds from Africa; it was estimated that £10 million worth of gems were being smuggled every year out of South Africa alone. The book expands upon a series of articles that Fleming wrote forThe Sunday Times in 1957.The Diamond Smugglers is one of two non-fiction books written by Fleming. It received mixed reviews, although critics thought the subject was interesting and that the facts were as interesting as works of fiction. There was interest in turning the book into a film, but the plans did not come to fruition. (Full article...)

August 9

FA Cup as awarded in 1883

The1883 FA Cup final was played betweenBlackburn Olympic andOld Etonians on 31 March 1883 atKennington Oval in London. It was the 12th final of theFA Cup, the world's oldestfootball competition. Old Etonians had defeatedBlackburn Rovers, inthe 1882 final. Blackburn Olympic had not previously progressed beyond the first round of the competition. Old Etonians took the lead in the first half with a goal fromHarry Goodhart, butAlfred Matthews scored anequaliser for Blackburn and, with the scores level, the game went intoextra time. Blackburn'sJames Costley scored and Blackburn won the match2–1. It was the first time that aworking-class team had won the Cup; it had previously been won exclusively by wealthy amateurs. The victory intensified a debate overprofessionalism in football; following threats to break away by teams which wished to pay players, professionalism in football was legalised in 1885 and the dominance of amateurs quickly ended. (Full article...)

August 10

Hurra-yi Khuttali (fl. c. 1006 – c. 1040) was a princess from theGhaznavid dynasty and the daughter ofSabuktigin, ruler ofGhazna (now in Afghanistan); her date and place of birth are unknown. Her intelligence and tactfulness gave her an influential role in governmental matters. She was married to twoMaʽmunid rulers of theKhwarazm region,Abu al-Hasan Ali and, after his death, his brotherMaʽmun II. It is not known if she had children with either of her husbands. Her marriages were a direct cause of theannexation of Khwarazm by her brother,Mahmud of Ghazni. In 1030, upon Mahmud's death, she wrote a letter to her favourite nephew,Masʽud, urging him to claim the throne from his brother,Muhammad. After receiving her missive, Masʽud quickly marched to Ghazna and usurped the throne. Hurra's letter is considered the most prominent political act of a woman during the Ghaznavid era. She is last mentioned in 1040, leaving Ghazna for India; her ultimate fate is unknown. (Full article...)

August 11

Caricature of the Berners Street hoax byWilliam Heath

TheBerners Street hoax was perpetrated by the writerTheodore Hook in London in 1810. He made a bet that he could transform any property into the most talked-about address in London. He spent six weeks sending between 1000 and 4000 letters to tradespeople and businesses ordering deliveries of their goods and services to 54 Berners Street, London, at various times on the same day. Several well-known people were also invited to call on the address, including the chairmen of theBank of England and theEast India Company,the Duke of Gloucester, and theLord Mayor of London.Chimney sweeps began arriving at the address at 5:00 am on the day, followed by hundreds of traders and businessmen; goods deliveries includedorgans, furniture, coal and a coffin. The police were not able to clear the street until after the final influx of visitors at 5:00 pm. Hook was unidentified at the time, but admitted his involvement in a semi-autobiographical novel published twenty-five years later. (Full article...)

August 12

Fresco fromMycenae possibly depicting a priestess or goddess

Eritha (fl. c. 1180 BCE) was aMycenaean priestess, based at thecult site of Sphagianes in the southwestPeloponnese. Sphagianes is believed to have been nearthe palatial centre of the Mycenaean state of Pylos, possibly at modernVolimidia. Eritha held authority over several other people, including at least fourteen women probably assigned to her as servants by the palatial state. Around 1180 BCE, she was involved in a legal dispute over the status of her lands against thedamos, an organisation representing the other landholders of Sphagianes. While the exact nature of the dispute is unclear, Eritha seems to have claimed that part of her land was held on behalf of her deity, and therefore subject to reduced taxes or obligations. The record of the matter constitutes the longest preserved sentence ofMycenaean Greek and the oldest evidence of a legal dispute from Europe. The outcome of the dispute is unknown. (Full article...)

August 13

Thedusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) is a smalloceanic dolphin found in coastal waters of theSouthern Hemisphere. Major populations occur around South America, southwestern Africa, New Zealand, and several oceanic islands. It has a somewhat stocky body with a shortbeak, a curveddorsal fin and flippers, and a multi-coloured pigmentation of black, grey, and white. The species prefers cool currents and inshore waters. It lives in afission–fusion society where groups change size based on social and environmental conditions. The dolphin feeds on severalfish andsquid species, sometimes usingdaytimebait ball herding andnightime feeding indeep scattering layers. Mating ispolygynandrous – several males will chase after a single female. Young are raised by females innursery groups. The dusky dolphin is known for its acrobatics, displayingleaping behaviours. It is a popular tourist attraction and the object ofwhale watching tours. (Full article...)

August 14

Mandell Creighton (1843–1901) was a British historian and clergyman. He studied at theUniversity of Oxford, then became adon in 1866. He was appointed the first occupant of theDixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History at theUniversity of Cambridge in 1884. The following year, he also was engaged as the founding editor ofThe English Historical Review, the first English-languageacademic journal in its field. In these posts, he helped to establish history as an independent academic discipline in England. Creighton was aparish priest of theChurch of England who rose to beBishop of London from 1897 and, but for his death, was thought likely to becomeArchbishop of Canterbury. His moderation and practicality drew praise fromQueen Victoria. He was firm in asserting that public figures should be judged for their public acts, not private ones. He believed that the Church of England was uniquely shaped by its particular English circumstances, and he saw it as the soul of the nation. (Full article...)

August 15

Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi (died 1858), was one of the leading figures of theIndian Rebellion of 1857. After the death of theRaja ofJhansi in 1853, theBritish East India Company, theoverlord of Jhansi, refused to acknowledge his young wife—the Rani—as regent. They instead annexed Jhansi, ignoring her vigorous protests. In May 1857, the Indian troops at Jhansi joined the ongoing rebellion and massacred the town's British residents; the Rani's complicity in the killing remains uncertain. She took control of Jhansi and attempted to rule peacefully, but the British decided to consider her an enemy and attacked Jhansi in March and April 1858. The Rani escaped on horseback and continued to fight, before dying in battle nearGwalior Fort. Her story and legend became closely associated withHindu mythology,Indian nationalism and thedeveloping independence movement. She remains revered in most of modern India, and has been extensively depicted in artwork, cinema, and literature. (Full article...)

August 16

Kitty Marion (1871–1944) was an activist who advocated forwomen's suffrage andbirth control. Born in Germany, she immigrated to England in 1886 when she was 15 years old. She sang in music halls throughout Britain and became known in the industry for bringing attention to the sexism and sexual assaults that were common in the business. Marion was a prominent member of theBritish suffrage movement. She began her advocacy by selling copies of the newspaperVotes for Women, then progressed to militant protests, including riots,bombing and arson attacks; she was imprisoned several times for arson and bombing. On the outbreak of World War I, she left Britain for the United States. She joined theAmerican birth control movement, and spent 13 years campaigning on street corners, selling the magazineBirth Control Review. Marion was arrested several times for distributing birth control information in violation of anti-obscenity laws. She died in New York in 1944. (Full article...)

August 17

Fight for the bridge during the battle of Preston

Thebattle of Preston took place on 17 August 1648. It was part of theSecond English Civil War, which began with a series of mutinies andRoyalist uprisings. The Scots raised an army under the command ofJames, Duke of Hamilton, which marched into England to supportKing Charles I. It combined with English Royalists and continued south some 24,000 strong.Oliver Cromwell concentrated 9,000Parliamentarians in northYorkshire and fell on the flank of the much larger Royalist army. Not anticipating this reckless assault, Hamilton was caught with his army dispersed. A blocking force of Royalistinfantry wasoutflanked after a ferocious hour-long fight. A second round of prolonged infantry hand-to-hand fighting took place for control of the bridge south ofPreston(pictured); the Parliamentarians fought their way across as night fell. In total 1,000 Royalists were killed and 4,000 captured; Parliamentary casualties were low.(This article is part of afeatured topic:Scottish invasion of England (1648).)

August 18

Coat of arms of Malta

Maltese nationality law is primarily governed by the Maltese Citizenship Act, whichcame into force on 21 September 1964. All persons born in Malta between 21 September 1964 and 1 August 1989 automatically received citizenship at birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country since that date receive Maltese citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents was a Maltese citizen or was born in Malta. Foreign nationals may become Maltese citizens by naturalisation after meeting a minimum residence requirement (usually five years). Malta is amember state of the European Union, and all Maltese nationals areEuropean Union citizens. Maltese citizens are alsoCommonwealth citizens under British law. (Full article...)

August 19

Holotype skull ofProceratosaurus, side-on view

Proceratosaurus is a genus oftheropod dinosaur that lived during theMiddle Jurassic in what is now England. Theholotype and only known specimen(pictured) consists of a mostly complete skull with an accompanying lower jaw and ahyoid bone, found nearMinchinhampton, a town inGloucestershire. It was originally described as a species ofMegalosaurus,M. bradleyi, in 1910, but was moved to its own genus in 1926. The genus was named after a supposed close relationship withCeratosaurus, later shown to be erroneous, due to the presence of an incomplete cranial crest considered to resembleCeratosaurus's nasal horn.Proceratosaurus is now considered to be one of the oldest members ofTyrannosauroidea (the broader group that includes thetyrannosaurids, includingTyrannosaurus). During theBathonian age whenProceratosaurus lived, Britain and the rest of Western Europe formed asubtropical islandarchipelago, with contemporary dinosaurs includingstegosaurs,Megalosaurus andCetiosaurus. (Full article...)

August 20

Rose Cleveland (1846–1918) was the actingfirst lady of the United States from 1885 to 1886, during the first presidency of her brother,Grover Cleveland, untilhis wedding withFrances Folsom in 1886. Receiving an advanced education in her youth, Rose Cleveland rejected traditional gender norms and worked in literary and academic positions. She used the role of first lady as a platform for her support ofwomen's suffrage. After leaving theWhite House, Cleveland authored several fiction and nonfiction works, many relating towomen's rights. She was editor of a literary magazine, and continued teaching and lecturing. She metEvangeline Marrs Simpson in 1889, and the two became romantic partners, interrupted for several years by Simpson's marriage toHenry Benjamin Whipple. After reuniting, they moved to Italy in 1910. There, Cleveland spent her final years aiding refugees during World War I and cared forSpanish flu patients before contracting the disease herself and dying in 1918. (Full article...)

August 21

Flower of theblue passionfruit

Flowers are the reproductive structures offlowering plants. Typically they are structured in four circular levels around the end of a stalk. These include:sepals, modified leaves that support the flower;petals, often designed to attract pollinators;male parts, wherepollen is presented; andfemale parts, where pollen is received and its movement is facilitated to the egg. Pollen, produced in the male sex cells, is transported between the male and female parts of flowers inpollination. Pollen movement may be caused by animals or factors such as wind or water. After pollination, the female part of the flower forms afruit, and the other floral structures die. The fruit protects the seed and aids in its dispersal. Flowers first evolved between 150 and 190 million years ago, in theJurassic. Plants with flowers dominate the majority of the world's ecosystems, and themselves range from tinyorchids and majorcrop plants to large trees. (Full article...)

August 22

Dua Lipa

"Dance the Night" is a song byDua Lipa(pictured) from thesoundtrack to the 2023 fantasy comedy filmBarbie. Lipa co-wrote the song with songwriterCaroline Ailin and its producersAndrew Wyatt andMark Ronson. Adisco,disco-pop, andsynth-pop song with influences ofdance-pop, it was inspired by a dance sequence in the film and is about always appearing perfect externally. Music critics overwhelmingly compared the sound of "Dance the Night" to Lipa's albumFuture Nostalgia (2020), which was viewed positively by some while others were disappointed. The song was nominated for theGrammy Awards for Song of the Year andBest Song Written for Visual Media. It reached number one in several countries, including the UK, and receivedmulti-platinum certifications in others. Themusic video intersperses Lipa performing choreography with clips from a disco party in the film. The song was included as the primary musical motif in the film, and she performed it for the first time at theRoyal Albert Hall in 2024. (Full article...)

August 23

White chocolate is achocolate made fromcocoa butter,sugar andmilk solids. It isivory in color as it does not contain the non-fat components of cocoa (cocoa solids). Of the three traditional types of chocolate (the others beingmilk anddark), white chocolate is the least popular; its taste and texture are divisive. White chocolate is sold in a variety of forms and it is common for manufacturers to pair white chocolate with other flavors. White chocolate is made industrially in a five-step process. The ingredients are mixed to form a paste; the paste is refined, reducing the particle size to a powder; then agitated for several hours (known asconching); further processing standardizes its viscosity and taste; and the chocolate istempered by heating, cooling and then reheating. White chocolate was first sold commercially intablet form in 1936 by the Swiss companyNestlé. It was not until the 1980s that white chocolate became popular in the United States. (Full article...)

August 24

Joss Whedon, creator of Satsu

Satsu is a fictional character in theBuffy the Vampire Slayer comics. Shefirst appears inBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight No. 1 (2007),a canonical continuation of the television seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayer.Buffy Summers is aslayer, a fighter of supernatural foes. Satsu is activated as a slayer, trained by Buffy, and falls in love with her. They have sex together twice before Satsu returns to Japan. In later storylines, Satsu struggles to move on from Buffy, fights demonically-possessedstuffed animals, and briefly reappears inBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten. Satsu was developed byBuffy's creatorJoss Whedon(pictured) and artistGeorges Jeanty. Critics, fans, and industry insiders had a mixed response to Satsu's sexual relationship with Buffy. Academics have analyzed the unequal power dynamic between Satsu and Buffy, compared the representations of their sexuality, and discussed the depiction of Satsu's race and ethnicity. (Full article...)

August 25

Bruce Springsteen

Born to Run is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriterBruce Springsteen(pictured), released on August 25, 1975, byColumbia Records. Co-produced by Springsteen withMike Appel andJon Landau, the album marked Springsteen's effort to break into the mainstream and create a commercially successful album. Sessions took place in New York between January 1974 and July 1975. The album incorporates aWall of Sound production with musical styles such asrock and roll andR&B. Its character-driven lyrics describe individuals who feel trapped and fantasize about escaping to a better life.Born to Run was a commercial success, reaching number three in the U.S., and received highly positive reviews. It became Springsteen's breakthrough album. Over the following decades, the album has become widely regarded as a masterpiece and one of Springsteen's best records. (Full article...)

August 26

1830 depiction of Zhao Chongguo

Zhao Chongguo (137 BCE – 52 BCE) was a Chinese military commander and official during theWestern Han dynasty.Emperor Wu, impressed by Zhao's military service, promoted him, and he served as chief of staff for the supreme head of cavalry units. In 74 BCE, Zhao collaborated with the political leaderHuo Guang to depose the newly enthroned emperorLiu He in favor ofEmperor Xuan. For this, he was appointedMarquis of Yingping and promoted to general of the rear. He volunteered to lead a campaign against theQiang people in 62 BCE. Joined by his son, he persuaded the Qiang to defect to the Han cause. Zhao rejected proposals by his fellow generals and the Emperor to continue offensive operations, believing that a protracted occupation would subdue the Qiang throughattrition. He was able to implement a policy oftuntian (establishing farming garrisons) in spite of imperial opposition. This gained him acclaim and influenced later strategists. He retired in 60 BCE after his son caused a scandal. (Full article...)

August 27

Main entrance to the stadium

Gateshead International Stadium is amulti-purpose,all-seater venue inGateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, built in 1955. The largest stadium in theMetropolitan Borough of Gateshead, it has a history of use for athletics events, sports, and musical performances. Gateshead Harriers Athletic Club (which includesJonathan Edwards) have used the site since 1956. At the 1974 "Gateshead Games",Brendan Foster broke the world record in the men's3,000 metres. It has since hosted theBritish Grand Prix (2003–2010) and theEuropean Athletics Team Championships in 1989, 2000 and 2013. Five world records have been set at the stadium, including two by pole vaulterYelena Isinbayeva and a tied100 metres record byAsafa Powell in 2006. It has been used byGateshead F.C. and its predecessors since 1973. The stadium was home to therugby league clubGateshead Thunder during their spell in theSuper League, and the replacementGateshead Thunder club played home games in the main arena until 2015. (Full article...)

August 28

Harry Crerar (1888–1965) was aCanadian Army officer who was the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as the commander of theFirst Canadian Army in thecampaign in North West Europe in 1944–1945. A graduate of theRoyal Military College of Canada inKingston, Ontario, he was commissioned in theNon-Permanent Active Militia in 1909. He saw action in the First World War, for which he wasmentioned in despatches and made acompanion of the Distinguished Service Order. After the war, he attended theStaff College, Camberley, and theImperial Defence College. In March 1944, he assumed command of the First Canadian Army, which also contained British, Polish and Czech troops. Under his command, it fought in theBattle of Normandy,cleared the Channel Coast, and liberated the western Netherlands in April 1945. He was promoted tofull general on 16 November 1944, becoming the first Canadian officer to hold that rank in the field. (Full article...)

August 29

Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville (29 August 1785 – 25 November 1862), was a British society hostess and writer. The younger daughter ofLady Georgiana Spencer and the5th Duke of Devonshire, she was a member of the wealthyCavendish andSpencer families. In 1809, Harriet marriedGranville Leveson-Gower, a diplomat who had been her maternal aunt's lover for seventeen years. During intermittent periods between 1824 and 1841, Granville served as theBritish ambassador to France, requiring Harriet to perform an array of social duties in Paris that she often found exhausting. A prolificwriter of letters, Harriet corresponded with others for most of her life, often describing her observations of those around her. Historians have since found her detailed accounts to be a valuable source of information on life as anambassadress as well as life in the 19th-centuryaristocracy. Between 1894 and 1990, four editedcollections of Harriet's correspondence were published. (Full article...)

August 30

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift(pictured), released on October 24, 2006, byBig Machine Records. Swift wrote or co-wrote all the tracks of the album, based on her experiences as a teenager; its lyrics address love, friendship, and insecurity. Produced byNathan Chapman, it is acountry record withpop andpop rock influences, using acoustic arrangements composed of guitars,banjos, andfiddles. Critics generally praised the earnest teenage feelings portrayed inTaylor Swift, and it spent more weeks on the USBillboard 200 than any other album of the 2000s decade. Among its singles, "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" peaked atop the USHot Country Songs chart, while "Teardrops on My Guitar" became Swift's firstcrossover success on the pop charts.Rolling Stone featured it in their 2022 list "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time".(This article is part of afeatured topic:Taylor Swift original studio albums.)

August 31

Drew Goddard, writer, director and producer

Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 Americanneo-noir,hyperlink,thriller film written, directed, and produced byDrew Goddard(pictured). The film follows six strangers and an employee at the El Royale, a hotel located on theCalifornia–Nevada border, on a night in the late 1960s, exploring themes of morality, faith, redemption, and the concepts of right and wrong.Principal photography began on January 29, 2018, with cinematographerSeamus McGarvey, and concluded on April 6. Post-production editing was completed byLisa Lassek and the musical score was composed byMichael Giacchino. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $31.8 million against its $32 million production budget. Despite this, critics praised the soundtrack, performances of the cast, and McGarvey's cinematography, although they criticized its pacing, runtime, character beats, and Goddard’s writing. At the45th Saturn Awards, the film received five nominations and won forBest Thriller Film. (Full article...)

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