Personal touches

[The Blue Newt]

(looks at gallery) My, that's quite an array of ... tits.

“Tawnee says what she does is Art, Sarge. And she wears more clothes than a lot of the women on the walls around here, so why be sniffy about it?”
“Yeah, but…” Fred Colon hesitated here. He knew in his heart that spinning upside down around a pole wearing a costume you could floss with definitely was not Art, and being painted lying on a bed wearing nothing but a smile and a small bunch of grapes was good solid Art, but putting your finger on why this was the case was a bit tricky.
“No urns,” he said at last.
“What urns?” said Nobby.
“Nude women are only Art if there’s an urn in it,” said Fred Colon. This sounded a bit weak even to him, so he added: “Or a plinth. Both is best, o’course. It’s a secret sign, see, that they put in to say that it’s Art and okay to look at.”
“What about a potted plant?”
“That’s okay if it’s in an urn.”

But to the second part of your post:

One would expect for a noted portraitist, there would be a bunch of portraits shown. That he was eclipsed is unsurprising, not because he wasn't good, but because the Art Establishment banished that stuff for a century.

Its possible for Draper that that is what is readily available. Portraits by their nature are painted on commission, so end up mostly with the subject and subsequently their families. Depending on his clientele, a lot of them are probably still privately owned. His classical nude-based stuff does appear to have been done (from what I can tell) to some extent directly for galleries. So maybe its a combination of the style going out of fashion and his portrait work being out of sight.

To say nothing of the primary reason: yer Average Internet Deve shows a certain preference in which pictures are linked, copied and multiplied. Wikipedia is largely written by said AID.

[eppur si muove]

Its possible for Draper that that is what is readily available. Portraits by their nature are painted on commission, so end up mostly with the subject and subsequently their families. Depending on his clientele, a lot of them are probably still privately owned. His classical nude-based stuff does appear to have been done (from what I can tell) to some extent directly for galleries. So maybe its a combination of the style going out of fashion and his portrait work being out of sight.

There are two portraits included on that page. One has the same name as Draper's wife. The other could well be of this person link who turned 12 the day after Draper died. When she married 9 years later, a certain Christopher Robin Milne was a page boy. Whether Pooh Bear was also in attendance is unclear.

[Ming]

To say nothing of the primary reason: yer Average Internet Deve shows a certain preference in which pictures are linked, copied and multiplied. Wikipedia is largely written by said AID.

Well, depending upon whose copyright one wishes to observe, there's not a lot of Draper's output which is under copyright in the US.

Definite reason for including Draper: he's British. Remember, Everything British Is Notable.

[Bezdomni]

Well, depending upon whose copyright one wishes to observe, there's not a lot of Draper's output which is under copyright in the US.

Definite reason for including Draper: he's British. Remember, Everything British Is Notable.

Quite. (§)

[Ming]

ArtUK has a bunch of other portraits in its gallery of Draper's works, including two of the sort from that period that make you try to avoid looking at the dates of the sitter. (The answer in both cases is 1915; Ming has to think the one portrait was posthumous given how generic it is compared to Draper's other works.) It's clear from the subjects that Draper was a prominent portraitist on top of his other career.

[The Blue Newt]

To say nothing of the primary reason: yer Average Internet Deve shows a certain preference in which pictures are linked, copied and multiplied. Wikipedia is largely written by said AID.

Well, depending upon whose copyright one wishes to observe, there's not a lot of Draper's output which is under copyright in the US.

Definite reason for including Draper: he's British. Remember, Everything British Is Notable.

I do not think the AID cares about copyright laws much compared with his appreciation of the female form.

[Peter Damian]

Paradiso (Amsterdam) (T-H-L)

The acoustics are rather echoey, but improvements have been made over the years.

[eppur si muove]

Paradiso (Amsterdam) (T-H-L)

The acoustics are rather echoey, but improvements have been made over the years.

Which makes me think of how Thomas Beecham is meant to have said that composers should always have their works premiered at the Albert Hall as that way they're guaranteed to hear them twice.

[eppur si muove]

Isabella Colbran (T-H-L)

It is said she suffered from a strained voice, which is another way for saying she had a hard time staying in tune.

[tarantino]

Impossible Monsters (T-H-L)

The Lansdale name is legendary in the horror field. Now Kasey Lansdale follows in her father Joe Lansdale's footsteps with this anthology of monstrously innovative stories. The twelve creatures that stalk the pages of Impossible Monsters spring from the twisted imaginations of a dozen of today’s most noted authors.

Copyvio from the dust jacket that's been there since 2013.

[Peter Damian]

On the Soul (T-H-L)

As to what mind Aristotle is referring to in Chapter V (i.e. divine, human, or a kind of world soul), has represented a hot topic of discussion for centuries.

[rnu]

On the Soul (T-H-L)

As to what mind Aristotle is referring to in Chapter V (i.e. divine, human, or a kind of world soul), has represented a hot topic of discussion for centuries.

Always begin your essay along these lines: “Since the very dawn of time the problem
of free will has been considered by many of the greatest and deepest thinkers in
history.”
(James Lenman, How to Write a Crap Philosophy Essay. A Brief Guide for Students)

[eppur si muove]

Always begin your essay along these lines: “Since the very dawn of time the problem
of free will has been considered by many of the greatest and deepest thinkers in
history.”
(James Lenman, How to Write a Crap Philosophy Essay. A Brief Guide for Students)

I can remember getting a handout from my philosophy don (J. M. Hinton (philosopher) (T-H-L)) to the effect that in a typical finals essay answer a poor student would first tell the reader what they are going to say, then say it and then tell the reader what they have said and the student will get all three wrong. (.I.e the introductory paragraph is along the lines of "In this essay I will tell you about X". Then in the body the student writes a lot about Y but gets some things wrong. Then the conclusion will say "I have explained that Z.")

The Wikipedian equivalent is to have one thing in the lede, another in the infobox and a third in the body of the article.

[tarantino]

Sant'Angelo in Vado (T-H-L)

The sumptuous Roman house "Domus of the Myth" was excavated from 2003, a large noble house built towards the end of the 1st century AD.

Nothing in the article informs you what country Sant'Angelo in Vado is in. It is mentioned in the infobox though.

[eppur si muove]

Nothing in the article informs you what country Sant'Angelo in Vado is in. It is mentioned in the infobox though.

It does now. Inserted by exactly who I expected with the edit description having her usual disclaimer but also a suggestion that the article be expanded.

[rnu]

Green Bay Bombers (T-H-L)

The start of the season was not pretty, as the team lost two of their first three games, both loses to Peoria.

Also, does Wikipedia have a category for missing sports teams?

When the IFL was sold, the Bombers disappeared.

[Peter Damian]

Floris and Blancheflour (T-H-L)

Unlike the usually bloody and martial Romances earlier in the period (e.g. Havelok the Dane), this Romance is, indeed, romantic.

[The Blue Newt]

Floris and Blancheflour (T-H-L)

Unlike the usually bloody and martial Romances earlier in the period (e.g. Havelok the Dane), this Romance is, indeed, romantic.

Well, that seems to be omitting, as a given, the words “in a modern sense” or “in the current sense”, which merely reflects that the average wikiteur is about 12, and sincerely believes that language started when the sun began shining out of his backside.

i.e., par for the course.

[Peter Damian]

Melody Maker (T-H-L)

By 1983, the magazine had become more populist and pop-orientated, exemplified by its modish "MM" masthead, regular covers for the likes of Duran Duran and its choice of Eurythmics' Touch as the best album of the year. Things were to change, however. In February 1984, Allan Jones, a staff writer on the paper since 1974, was appointed editor: defying instructions to put Kajagoogoo on the cover, he led the magazine with an article on up-and-coming band The Smiths.

[orangepi]

from 2001 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 10 (T-H-L)

For now, the yellow is on the shoulders of François Simon, who scored a creditable 29th place (10.20 behind Armstrong). Stuart O'Grady ends way in the back. After having worn it six days, he says goodbye to the yellow jersey. He is now concentrating on the green one. Armstrong is now the first of the favourites, at fourth place. He will still have to deal with Simon and Kivilev before getting the yellow.

[Peter Damian]

Night Train (Jimmy Forrest composition) (T-H-L)

Like Illinois Jacquet's solo on "Flying Home", Forrest's original saxophone solo on "Night Train" became a veritable part of the composition, and is usually recreated in cover versions by other performers.

[Peter Damian]

Alpha and beta male (T-H-L)

Sigma male is an internet slang term to describe masculine men. The term gained prominence within Internet culture during the late 2010s and early 2020s, and has inspired numerous memes, graffitis and videos.[32] It is used to denote a male who is equally dominant to an alpha male but exists outside the alpha-beta male hierarchy as a "lone wolf". In the manosphere, it is regarded as the "rarest" kind of male.[33][34][35][36]

The term first appeared in a blog post by American writer Vox Day.[37] Later, California plastic surgeon John T. Alexander published the book The Sigma Male: What Women Really Want. In 2018, the term appeared on YouTube and in 2021 it went viral after a tweet by Lily Simpson.[38][39][40]

The term sigma male has also taken on an ironic and satirical meaning, sometimes mocking the concept of the "manosphere" and the ideas of hustle culture with bizarre and nonsensical actions being considered part of the sigma male mindset or "grindset".[41][42] On social media, the term is often used to describe idealistic, masculine fictional characters from films and TV shows. Notably, actor Christian Bale's portrayal of the character Patrick Bateman from the 2000 film American Psycho is often cited as an ideal representation of a "sigma male", both through memes and unironic discussion.[43][44]

[eppur si muove]

The term first appeared in a blog post by American writer Vox Day.[37]

Vox Day (real name Theodore Beale) is familiar to me as the bigot who attempted to wreck the Hugo Awards with his "Rabid Puppies" block voting system.

[tarantino]

The svelte, semi-androgynous physical features of the characters are typical of bishōnen (literally "beautiful boys") common in yaoi media.

[Giraffe Stapler]

Melody Maker (T-H-L)

By 1983, the magazine had become more populist and pop-orientated, exemplified by its modish "MM" masthead, regular covers for the likes of Duran Duran and its choice of Eurythmics' Touch as the best album of the year. Things were to change, however. In February 1984, Allan Jones, a staff writer on the paper since 1974, was appointed editor: defying instructions to put Kajagoogoo on the cover, he led the magazine with an article on up-and-coming band The Smiths.

The Smiths were on the cover of Melody Maker on the 26 November 1983 issue. In February 1984, Melody Maker covers had Howard Jones (4 Feb), Simple Minds (11 Feb), Sade (18 Feb), and Marilyn (25 Feb). No Smiths. Just saying.

[greyed.out.fields]

Stranger Pond (T-H-L)

A wombat enjoying the sunset on Stranger Pond.

Been there since 2007. (The picture+caption, not the wombat, that is.)

[Peter Damian]

Anton Webern (T-H-L)

Webern's earliest works primarily comprise lieder, the genre that most testifies to his roots in Romanticism, specifically German Romanticism; one in which the music yields brief but explicit, potent, and spoken meaning manifested only latently or programmatically in purely instrumental genres; one marked by significant intimacy and lyricism; and one which often associates nature, especially landscapes, with themes of homesickness, solace, wistful yearning, distance, utopia, and belonging.

[tarantino]

Guntram (T-H-L)

Gontrand had a period of intemperance. He was eventually overcome with remorse for the sins of his past life, and spent his remaining years repenting of them, both for himself and for his nation. In atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God. Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he attempted to govern by Christian principles. According to St. Gregory of Tours, he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was generous with his wealth, especially in times of plague and famine. He strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations. Gontrand munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries. St. Gregory related that the king performed many miracles both before and after his death, some of which St. Gregory claimed to have witnessed himself.

Of course, there is no reference for that.

[eppur si muove]

That article is called "Guntram" but the alternative form of the name "Gontrand" is used throughout.

[Ming]

Anton Webern (T-H-L)

Webern's earliest works primarily comprise lieder, the genre that most testifies to his roots in Romanticism, specifically German Romanticism; one in which the music yields brief but explicit, potent, and spoken meaning manifested only latently or programmatically in purely instrumental genres; one marked by significant intimacy and lyricism; and one which often associates nature, especially landscapes, with themes of homesickness, solace, wistful yearning, distance, utopia, and belonging.

The edit history for that article is really quite something. There are literally thousands of edits (2,664 to be precise) by one MONTENSEM (T-C-L), whose very first edit was on this article in June 2014. And by"thousands"-- well, the latest 500 edits doesn't even get back into December; the latest 25 edits were on a single day, and the only reason why he has more than a day of mean time between edits is that he goes for long periods without editing anything significant.

[Ron Lybonly]

Mexican Hairless Cat (T-H-L)

"According to the New York Tribune, also of 31st December, 1908,[9] “Death, too, has invaded the exhibit, for the Mexican hairless cat died on the way to the scene of her expected triumph. This cat, which was the property of Miss. L. Spink, of Big Lake, Minnesota, is said to be the last of a famous Aztec race.” "

This just one of the many riches in this article.

Read it now before it gets fixed (ruined). diff

[lonza leggiera]

Anton Webern (T-H-L)

Webern's earliest works primarily comprise lieder, the genre that most testifies to his roots in Romanticism, specifically German Romanticism; one in which the music yields brief but explicit, potent, and spoken meaning manifested only latently or programmatically in purely instrumental genres; one marked by significant intimacy and lyricism; and one which often associates nature, especially landscapes, with themes of homesickness, solace, wistful yearning, distance, utopia, and belonging.

This passage is an almost verbatim copy of a passage in this document on the Mahler Foundation website. The only difference between the two versions are the words coloured in red in the above quotation, where the document at the preceding link has "consist primarily of". However, before it was changed by this edit of January 10 the following passage in the Wikipedia article was a verbatim copy (with the exception of the citations, which I've omitted) of the corresponding one in the linked document:

Webern’s earliest works consist primarily of lieder, the genre that most belies his roots in Romanticism, specifically German Romanticism; one in which the music yields brief but explicit, and potent, and spoken meaning manifested only latently or programmatically in purely instrumental genres; one marked by significant intimacy and lyricism; and one which often associates nature, especially landscapes, with themes of homesickness, solace, wistful yearning, distance, utopia, and belonging. Robert Schumann’s “Mondnacht” is an iconic example; Eichendorff, whose lyric poetry inspired it, is not far removed from the poets (e.g., Richard Dehmel, Gustav Falke, Theodor Storm) whose work inspired Webern and his contemporaries Alban Berg, Max Reger, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf, and Alexander von Zemlinsky. Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder were especially influential on Webern’s efforts from this period. But well beyond these lieder alone, all of Webern’s music may be said to possess such concerns and qualities, as is evident from his sketches, albeit in an increasingly symbolic, abstract, spare, introverted, and idealized manner. 

Nevertheless, the passage in Wikipedia is almost certainly not the result of plagiarism by the editor MONTENSEM (T-C-L), who seems to have been the sole editor responsible for transforming the passage from this:

Webern's earliest works are in a late Romantic style. They were neither published nor performed in his lifetime, though they are sometimes performed today. They include the orchestral tone poem Im Sommerwind (1904) and the Langsamer Satz (1905) for string quartet.

to the version quoted above. The transformation was achieved with a series of edits carried out on August 1, August 7 and August 11, 2014, the last three of which were those indicated by the green blue and orange text, respectively, in the above quotation. The passage then seems to have remained unchanged in the article until the edit of last January 10, referred to above.

The Webern biography at the Mahler Foundation website is not dated. The earliest capture of the document by the Wayback machine (T-H-L), however, is dated October 19, 2020 even though there are 5 earlier capture of the website itself, dating back to April 12, 2020. All this indicates to me that if there's any plagiarism going on here, it's the author of the biography at the Mahler Foundation website who's guilty of it, rather than MONTENSEM. I have a pretty strong hunch, however, that MONTENSEM himself or herself is the author of the biography at the Mahler Foundation website.

[rnu]

Brookwood Cemetery (T-H-L)

The rate of burials was much lower than anticipated by the London Necropolis Company and around 80% of graves are unmarked, making Brookwood distinctively uncluttered when compared to other cemeteries.

[Peter Damian]

Critique of Pure Reason (T-H-L)

Prior to Kant, it was thought that all a priori knowledge must be analytic. Kant, however, argues that our knowledge of mathematics, of the first principles of natural science, and of metaphysics, is both a priori and synthetic. The peculiar nature of this knowledge cries out for explanation. The central problem of the Critique is therefore to answer the question: "How are synthetic a priori judgments possible?"

[Dan of La Mancha]

Chad of Mercia (T-H-L):

Chad used to break off reading whenever a gale sprang up and call on God to have pity on humanity. If the storm intensified, he would shut his book altogether and prostrate himself in prayer. During prolonged storms or thunderstorms he would go into the church itself to pray and sing psalms until calm returned. His monks obviously regarded this as an extreme reaction even to English weather and asked him to explain.

[rnu]

Chad of Mercia (T-H-L):

Chad used to break off reading whenever a gale sprang up and call on God to have pity on humanity. If the storm intensified, he would shut his book altogether and prostrate himself in prayer. During prolonged storms or thunderstorms he would go into the church itself to pray and sing psalms until calm returned. His monks obviously regarded this as an extreme reaction even to English weather and asked him to explain.

The source just says:

When Chad's followers asked him why he behaved like this he spoke to them [...]

[Peter Damian]

Lunar distance (navigation) (T-H-L)

The navigator, having cleared the lunar distance, now consults a prepared table of lunar distances and the times at which they will occur in order to determine the Greenwich time of the observation. These tables were the high tech wonder of their day.

[Zoloft]

Lunar distance (navigation) (T-H-L)

The navigator, having cleared the lunar distance, now consults a prepared table of lunar distances and the times at which they will occur in order to determine the Greenwich time of the observation. These tables were the high tech wonder of their day.

Fixed by an IP editor.

[Paragon Deku]

Germany._A_Winter's_Tale (T-H-L)

Heine’s verse-epic was much debated in Germany right down to our own times. Above all in the century to which it belonged

[rnu]

Germany._A_Winter's_Tale (T-H-L)

Heine’s verse-epic was much debated in Germany right down to our own times. Above all in the century to which it belonged

TNT the whole article. *shudder*

[Peter Damian]

Germany._A_Winter's_Tale (T-H-L)
TNT the whole article. *shudder*

A bit of a stinker, yes.

"the darts of his satire and humour fly out from the tragic vortex of his own exile." Eew.

[The Blue Newt]

In Winslow Homer (T-H-L), we can learn that The Gulf Stream (painting) (T-H-L) shows “a Black sailor adrift in a damaged boat, surrounded by sharks and an impending maelstrom.” I am unsure if this is because Scotwriter (T-C-L) thinks that whirlpools form out in the Gulf Stream, or he thinks it a fancy word for a waterspout, but it isn’t to be found in the citation following.

[Peter Damian]

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (T-H-L)

The late, great trombonist Ray Sims, the unsung soloist with Les Brown and Harry James and brother of jazz tenor saxophonist stalwart 'Zoot' Sims, delivered the finest recording work of his long career with a brace of meaningful solos. Bill Miller contributed several beautifully conceived piano solos."

[Paragon Deku]

A friend tipped me off to San Pedro Mountains Mummy (T-H-L):

It is a hard fact to swallow that there cannot be any more studies done on "Pedro" because he was lost.

[rnu]

A friend tipped me off to San Pedro Mountains Mummy (T-H-L):

It is a hard fact to swallow that there cannot be any more studies done on "Pedro" because he was lost.

Oof. That's one hell of a crappy PROFRINGE article.

Edit: the English article says that it's a boy. The German article says it is a 65 year old woman.

[greyed.out.fields]

Not really personal touches stricto sensu, but the "retrospective reviews" section in Romeo + Juliet (T-H-L) has lately been made significantly more, shall we say, "spicy" by the addition of some quotes from a memoir by the irascible and utterly wonderful Miriam Margolyes (T-H-L) . Following WP:ADMINACCT (T-H-L), I should probably have warned the people who added that content about, well any number of WP:P&G (T-H-L)s...

[Peter Damian]

H/t to AndytheGrump
Navel fetishism (T-H-L)

Some navel fetishists find physical acts involving the navel to be sexually arousing. These physical acts can include licking the navel; applying body lotion or suntan oil; and pouring substances like champagne, honey, chocolate sauce or whipped cream into and around the navel and licking or sucking it up. Similarly, licking or rolling the tongue into the navel while underwater can produce erotic sensations, as can an ice cube when rubbed over or rested over the navel.

WTF