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Nine Inch Nails performing in 2013

Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails (pictured), released on April 17, 2007, by Interscope Records. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote the music and lyrics while touring for the group's previous release, With Teeth (2005). Contrasting Reznor's previously introverted style of songwriting, Year Zero is a concept album that criticizes contemporary policies of the U.S. government by presenting a dystopian vision of the year 2022. It is part of a project which includes a remix album and an alternate reality game (ARG). The Year Zero ARG expanded upon the album's fictional storyline by using media such as websites, pre-recorded phone messages, and murals. Year Zero received very positive reviews, many favorable toward the ARG. The album produced two singles, "Survivalism" and "Capital G", the latter released as a promotional single. Disputes arose between Reznor and Universal Music Group, parent company of Interscope, over the overseas pricing of the album. (Full article...)

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Eileen Collins

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In the news

Webb's First Deep Field

NASA releases the first operational image (shown) taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Protesters storm the President's House in Colombo, Sri Lanka, forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to agree to resign.
Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos dies at the age of 79.
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a speech in Nara.

On this day

July 14: Bastille Day in France (1789); Festino di Santa Rosalia begins in Palermo, Italy

Attack on Joseph Priestley's home

1789 – The Bastille, a fortress and prison in Paris, was stormed by a crowd during the flashpoint of the French Revolution.
1791 – The Priestley Riots (depicted), targeting religious dissenters such as Joseph Priestley, began in Birmingham, England.
1902 – The medieval St Mark's Campanile in Venice collapsed, also demolishing the Loggetta del Sansovino.
1950 – Early in the Korean War, North Korean troops began attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in Taejon, South Korea.

Roy Inwood (b. 1890)
Herbert Maryon (d. 1965)
Constance Stokes (d. 1991)

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Today's featured picture

The red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At 33 to 37 centimetres (13 to 14+1⁄2 in) in length, it is the second-largest species of Australian honeyeater. The species is found in open forest and woodland, and is a common visitor to urban gardens and parks. Loud and conspicuous, the red wattlebird is generally found in trees, where it gets most of its food; occasionally it forages on the ground. It is one of the largest nectarivorous birds in the world, feeding from a wide variety of flowering plants, though insects also comprise part of its diet. It is territorial and at times aggressive towards birds of other species, often defending rich sources of nectar. Although it has declined in places from land clearing, it is classified as a least-concern species on the IUCN Red List.

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Photograph credit: Andreas Trepte

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