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November 4

Deep Space Nine

I used to be an official trekkie back in the day (18 years ago, by my count?) and I watched a fair bit of TNG, but was unimpressed with the first season of DS9. Babylon 5 seemed to do similar things, and I liked it better. I have run into some people who claim that I as an unrepentant geek missed out on some good TV. Obviously, people will disagree on quality, this is the kind of thing that internet fan wars are based on, but I know that TV shows in general have good and bad seasons and I'm not interested in understanding the whole show, just some good TV. What, in popular (and/or fan) estimation, are the "good" seasons of DS9? 24.16.0.80 (talk) 00:53, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

IMO, it got better and better as it went along, especially after Sisko started channeling Yul Brynner. The one episode you absolutely must watch is "Trials and Tribble-ations". Clarityfiend (talk) 01:46, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Since the seasons sort of built on one another and the characters were better and better developed, I'd say it would be hard to pick out one season over another. The war with the Dominion was such an important story arc that I don't know how you would pick it up in the middle or end of it. Dismas|^(talk) 01:51, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It is all a matter of personal taste, of course. I found the quality of DS9 to be unsteady, wavering up and down within a season. Overall, DS9 had a much darker tone than any of the other Star Trek series, which I did not care for. That is why I preferred episodes with a lighter content ("Trials and Tribble-ations" — which coincidentally I watched yesterday; "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", etc.) I thought ST: Voyager did a lot better with character development.    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 02:03, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Unless you're Harry Kim. Dismas|^(talk) 02:31, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

To me, a seemingly endless war is boring, I want to see a resolution. This is why I, and presumably many others, disliked Stargate Universe, leading to it's cancellation. It was also "excessively dark", with even their leader not being somebody trustworthy. StuRat (talk) 17:47, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

• Deep Space Nine was by far the worst of the Star Trek series, but as noted, Trials and Tribble-ations is fun watching, as are some episodes where the sexiest ST heroine, Dax, is featured. I would stick with Voyager after they got rid of the weird pedophile-bait Kes character. Any time you would spend watching DS9 would be much better spent rewatching Farscape. μηδείς (talk) 20:21, 4 November 2012 (UTC)
• I really liked DS9, partly because it was so different from the other Star Trek series. Rather than having a "planet of the week" like the ones set on ships, DS9 had one continuing story, like a soap opera. I found the politics fascinating and was pleased that not all Bajorans were good, nor all Cardassians bad. However, I didn't see the last two seasons, so I can't comment on them. "Trials and Tribble-ations" I found stupid and gimmicky. Angr (talk) 21:04, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

The Ferengi and Kardassian characters were interesting. But the Bay Shore-ans were insufferable, the doctor constantly needed bitch-slapping, and Sisko and Odo were the apotheoses of a pompous ass. Liked Jadzia (sp?) because she was pretty and that taylor/spy guy. μηδείς (talk) 21:24, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It might be fun to see battles between the Bay Shore-ans and the Kardashians.    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 04:45, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Deep Space Nine is far, far, far, far better than Enterprise and Voyager; maybe not better than TNG, but TNG on average was also pretty stupid except for those awesome few years in the middle. But it's all a matter of taste, as you can see :) Adam Bishop (talk) 22:44, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I found TNG insufferably sanctimonious, and let's not get started on Wesley Crusher. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:59, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra! μηδείς (talk) 23:08, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I would not think there are better or worse seasons, just episodes. Some of them actually offer something to talk about, outside of fandom I mean, e.g. Statistical Probabilities. I agree about the Ferengi and the Cardassians being the more interesting characters, but as Star Trek sometimes does, all of a sudden they trash all the previously established differentiated views and discussions on good/evil etc. and smash an episode of "No! Life is simple, black or white! There is pure evil, and he is evil, basta!" (Gul Dukat, however that's spelled) in your face. pity. Pardon my German (Fiiiisch!) (talk) 15:13, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Wow, talk about a difference of opinion in the trekkie community. I got into star trek back in the days of voyager. Loved it so much that when it ended I went back and saw all of the original star trek, TNG, DS9, Voyager, and even Babylon 5 and all of the movies too. When Enterprise started, I saw the first episode and hated it so much I never saw another minute of it to this day. My favorite to his day is still Voyager. DS9 is second favorite because it had a global background plot and yes it does get better as you get closer to the end. The season finales are pretty good but DS9 should be seen in order because episodes do depend on previous episodes. Trials and tribbelations is a good episode (very nicely done I think) but there are others too. TNG was okay. The original one was okay too (yes, I do think it was corny but just to be fair, I am not taking the 50-year old corniness into consideration) but it is amazing if you look at the reflection of society it presents back then. Kirk was just such a chauvinistic pig, making out with a woman in almost every episode. Why was it always Kirk and no other men? All the (hot) alien women always just melted in his arms. The only woman on the bridge was black woman who of course had a very sexy uniform. Funny that there weren't any black men but only a single black woman who was obviously there for sex appeal. The bridge crew did include other races but it was just funny what they thought back then the future would look like. Only blacks, asians, russians...and scottish with a white guy in charge of course. It is interesting to also notice the evolution of star trek with the times. Does art reflect society or does society reflect art? Started with the white guy in charge with no blacks in the picture, then things changed so much that it was okay to have a black guy in charge, and then even a woman as a captain was acceptable.

Anyway, to answer OP's question, if you really can't watch the whole thing then I think the last three seasons are good from DS9. And from those if you want to pick then the end/start of seasons are pretty good like the end of five/start of six and then end of six/start of seven and then the end of season seven.

Who thinks "Year of Hell" is the best episode from voyager?184.96.226.214 (talk) 08:58, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

"Random article" chances of landing on a football-related page.

What are the chances of clicking Wikipedia "Random article" and receiving an article related to football? Nicholasprado (talk) 06:20, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

This is a question for the Mathematics reference desk. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 06:21, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I'll go there then, it had football so I'd thought maybe I'd come here. Nicholasprado (talk) 06:23, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I see where you were coming from, but it's only incidentally about football. A question that asks how many apples you get if you add 2 apples to 3 apples is not about fruit, but about mathematics. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 07:42, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It's not really even a maths question, more one about Wikipedia itself, namely 'how many Wikipedia articles are there?' (which is easy to find out, though see User:R. fiend/How many articles does Wikipedia really have? for some caveats) and 'how many Wikipedia articles about football are there?', which is probably a lot harder to answer, and even to define exactly. OK, that's two questions, and there's a third: 'are all articles equally likely to be delivered by the "random article" link?' If the answer to that is 'yes' then the probability is (answer 2) divided by (answer 1). AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:40, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

The answer to the third is actually no. I don't know where to find the reference but I recall there is something a bit odd about how numbers are unevenly assigned to articles that makes the random button a bit less random. Rmhermen (talk) 19:53, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I noticed a few years back that about 1 in 20 articles was a stub about a municipality in Poland. Articles for soccer players came in at about the same rate, with articles about French and Nigerian municipalities being almost as common. If those stats still hold, it means about 5% of wikipedia is about soccer, and maybe 10% about towns in poland, France, and Nigeria. I suggest clicking random article 100 or 200 times and seeing what you get. μηδείς (talk) 20:16, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Andrew, you're confusing (a) where to get the source data with (b) how to use said data to arrive at the answer. (a) is a Miscellaneous question, or would be if that's as far as the question went, which it wasn't. (b) is a Mathematics question. You yourself have just used a mathematical technique to come up with an answer. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:19, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:TFAQ#random. Nanonic (talk) 20:20, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

There are currently just less than 200,000 articles tagged by the football WikiProject. There are 4,000,000+ articles on Wikipedia. This means that officially it's about 5% and if the tagging effort is supremely inefficient, a maximum 10% of Wikipedia. Bear in mind, a lot of those tags will be for tenuous connections, eg people who became very famous for something other than football, but played football as a youngster, like Gordon Ramsay. The figure also includes a staggering 20,000 templates and 16,000 Categories. --Dweller (talk) 13:33, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Jazz saxophone players

Do jazz saxophone players often play key combinations that aren't valid notes? A lot of them sound more-or-less like random playing, but are they also playing random key combinations? I was listening to Cannonball Adderley and I thought "his notes make sense to me", in contrast to many jazz sax players. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 06:20, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It's actually fairly difficult to play random non-notes on a sax. Take a look at a fingering chart and you will see that most of the possible combinations of finger positions will sound a valid note. Also, once you have played sax for a few years, those finger positions are kind of 'hard-wired' in - trying to play other combinations feels very odd. I've just tried out a few 'weird' positions, like 1st finger left hand with 2nd & 3rd finger right hand and I can confirm it feels incredibly unlikely that I'd hit on that spontaneously whilst improvising. Also note that playing a non-standard finger position will still make a sound, it just won't necessarily be one that you'd find on a piano. But experienced players can change the tone with the shape of their mouths (called 'lipping it') to bring the note back into tune. I played with someone who was a much better player than me, and there was a difficult passage in the music we were playing, all full of tricky transitions that made it difficult to get your fingers in the right place. He showed me how you could use a different fingering along with lipping it to make the fingerings easier. I couldn't manage it, though, since you need very strong face muscles. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 09:40, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Indeed, there's nothing random about applying extended technique to your horn. Do all players, at any given moment, consciously know exactly what they're doing and how they got there? Of course not, but that doesn't make it random. Do you have any examples of saxophone players who sound random to you? ---Sluzzelin talk 11:42, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I can't name any that sound random right now. I listen to jazz sometimes on satellite radio. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 14:39, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Hurricane Sandy relief benefits

Recently, I typed up two articles about different benefits for Hurricane Sandy relief. One was about Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, which aired on NBC on November 2, 2012. The other was about Day of Giving, which is bound to air on ABC on November 5, 2012. I used my own words and gave as much references as possible. I don't know if I've done good. But I'm interested in finding out if they might be approved.142.255.103.121 (talk) 07:28, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I imagine each could be adequately covered in a paragraph within Hurricane Sandy; they're too ephemeral for their own articles, in my humble opinion. —Tamfang (talk) 07:44, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia copying from website

my name is dan brisebois, the author of www.canadianbands.com. i have a couple of concerns. on a few occasions i've come across articles on canadian bands that were swiped by someone word for word from my website, the headpins most recently. i removed the offending portion of the article, only to find it back up a few moments later, so i removed it again. i'm hoping it remains removed this time.

on a seperate note, i find a lot of the material added by readers comes from my website, which is natural. but my site isn't credited as the source of that information, which i don't really have a problem with per se. but i'm finding links to my site on the bottom of those pages are being removed, even though there are other websites that have links.

what exactly is the policy on this? as it seems to be contradictory. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brizboy3 (talk • contribs) 11:49, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi Dan. Firstly, I would like to apologise for any frustration you have been caused over this. Whilst Wikipedia volunteers do endeavour to make sure that text is not lifted wholesale from other websites, and that the providers of information are properly credited, this is an ongoing task and we don't always get it right.

Secondly, I would like to direct you to a better source of help. We have a team of volunteers dedicated to copyright violations (which is what this is - a wholesale copying of your site without your permission). I have posted your question at the Copyright problems desk - please see there for any responses. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 12:09, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Confusing Morgan Freeman for Nelson Mandela

Twice in the last week I've encountered people seeing images of Nelson Mandela and believing they're seeing Morgan Freeman. I know Freeman did play Mandela in Invictus (film) and he was a presenter at Mandela's birthday concert in 2009. But most people would not have seen the latter (I'd never even heard of it till I looked Freeman up), and not that many more saw Invictus. Freeman was made up to resemble Mandela in the film, but without makeup, apart from the obvious Africanness, they’re really very dissimilar. Mandela is a hugely famous world figure, or so I thought, and he has very distinctive features.

What could explain this confusion in the minds of some people? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 12:19, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know the people who confused the two, but the confusion could have something to do with the cross-race effect. ---Sluzzelin talk

Seems a likely candidate. Thanks. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:10, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Freeman also gets confused with Kofi Annan. Matt Deres (talk) 15:15, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Who's Precious?

In the last couple of episodes of Shane Dawson TV, he's mentioned someone named Precious. In the last one, the woman he's talking to even asks "Who's Precious?", but he just answers "How can you not know who Precious is?" Well, I don't know either. No one mentioned at Precious (disambiguation) seems to be likely; does anyone know who he's talking about? Angr (talk) 18:36, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Presumably Precious_(film)#Plot. I think this movie was more significant to black audiences than whites, so, if you're white, that might explain why you never heard of it. StuRat (talk) 18:42, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

That and the fact that I now live in Germany and have very little contact with American popular culture anymore (except through Shane Dawson and South Park!) Angr (talk) 19:11, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Part of the significance comes from its official name "Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire", which had to be said in full whenever it was nominated for something. Adam Bishop (talk) 12:13, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Dunno about you but that information does not enhance my understanding. —Tamfang (talk) 20:02, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Haha, well it's just such a ridiculously long title, and for awhile it was up for a bunch of awards and every single time it was mentioned, they had to say the whole thing. Otherwise it just has the unremarkable title "Precious". Adam Bishop (talk) 22:41, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

It's obvious the studio had to acquiesce to the long title because the rights to make a film adaptation included a stipulation about the book title. Wonder if it helped the author's sales? μηδείς (talk) 17:13, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Elvis

What happened to the last part of the beginning section under Elvis Presley where it says he is known world wide as the King of Rock n Roll, or simply the King? It's no longer there! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.14.243.3 (talk) 19:55, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Why aren't you asking this question at the talk page for Elvis's article - Talk:Elvis Presley? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:12, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

It was missing for four hours and one minute, before it was restored. Both the removal and the restoration were good-faith edits, just a disagreement over how the article should read. Such things are commonplace on Wikipedia, but we recommend discussion on article talk pages over edit-warring. Nonetheless, a plurality of opinions makes us stronger. We'd welcome your input, too. You might like to consider creating an account, to aid communication. It costs nothing and takes about two minutes. --Dweller (talk) 15:36, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Star Wars Lego on the PS2, Hoth Battle

I realise I'm a few years behind with this but I've been playing Star Wars Lego II (original trilogy) on the Playstation 2 and I've got stuck. I've been through the whole game and then been through again in 'free play' mode. I've been collecting red bricks and gold bricks, and mini-kits. Now I have just one last peice of mini-kit to collect. I have the 'mini-kit detecter' swithed on so it shows me where they are, but with this one the green arrow just points to a space on the floor/snow. It's during the 'Hoth Battle' sequence. You get past the first bit, through the tunnel, into an area where you meet your first AT-ATs. Past the first AT-AT, destroy the second AT-AT, which enables you to destroy the large wall, then before the next large wall, there's a green arrow pointing here, suggesting there's apparently a peice of mini-kit in the floor. But I can't work out how to get it. In other levels a green arrow appears to point to an empty space, but then when you complete some certain part of that level, a peice of mini-kit appears below the arrow.

I've tried looking at walkthroughs on YouTube, but they all seem to be for different versions of the game, ie: The Complete Saga version, for the Wii or whatever. They seem to have a slightly different gameplay where you have to knock down a certain amount of AT-STs and there is no minikit peice here. Anyone remember this?87.112.119.126 (talk) 20:00, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Going on my memory here, but aren't there some doors which only open for a TIE Fighter? The minikit might be underground behind those doors, you have to change to a TIE Fighter in free play obviously. If it's not that, I think you have to tow-cable ten AT-STs or something before the minikit appears. --Canley (talk) 05:02, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

The walkthroughs (written out in prose) on Gamefaqs.com are usually pretty good. They are volunteers, though, just like here, so your results may vary.  : ) Kingsfold (Quack quack!) 19:35, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

November 5

Chess Free by Optime

Hi all,

how strong (I mean the approximate Elo rating) is the chess software Chess Free by Optime running on an I-phone?

Thanks!

193.205.224.196 (talk) 15:24, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

This question was cross-posted to the Computing and Misc desks as well. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 16:20, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I removed the others. Please don't cross-post, as following a discussion spread out over 3 desks is rather difficult. StuRat (talk) 17:02, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Who is the Chris Martin in A Scause for Applause

Can anyone suggest whom the character named Chris Martin is in the most recent South Park episode. (No, he's not the Cold Play frontman. He's American with dark hair.) Asked this at the article but no suggestions there. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 20:48, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Do you mean who did the voice of the character? -Canley (talk) 02:03, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

No, I want to know who the character whose name is given as "Chris Martin", who shows up as a talking head in a parody of Charlie Rose, might be based upon. They don't normally give full names to characters with brief appearances for no reason. μηδείς (talk) 02:10, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Are you absolutely sure that he's not supposed to be the Coldplay guy (who has actually been interviewed on the Charlie Rose show)? The representations of celebrities' appearances and voices on South Park aren't exactly known for their blinding accuracy, and Martin has been rather outspoken on some public issues? Deor (talk) 14:00, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

The character has dark hair with grey in it, an American accent, and nothing suggesting he's the CP singer so far as I can tell. He appears at 4:30 in the episode.

Christopher Hitchens parodie maybe?

--84.114.77.242 (talk) 19:09, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Short story about a girl who finds out she is a construction.

I heard a short story years ago about a young girl who lives with her father alone in an old house. There's a room to which she is perpetually denied access, until one day she breaks into the room and finds an electronic version of herself being constructed. Shocked, she races out of the room, falls down the stairs and breaks part of herself off, realising that she herself is a robot. My question is... where does the story come from? I'm considering making it into a short film, but if it's written by an established, published author then I'm kinda stuffed. Whereas, if it's just something that's like an urban myth, then I'm good to go. I know it's a structure/formula/premise that has been done lots, (see I was a teenage werewolf, the princess and the pea, The sixth sense, etc) but it's whether this particular version is recogniseable from a specific writers work. IE: was it an episode of The Twilight Zone or a Bradbury short story that could be said to be stolen?87.112.119.126 (talk) 23:07, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure why you're concerned necessarily. Last fall I helped a friend of mine make a short film based on an H. P. Lovecraft story... And Lovecraft is somewhat well known! Dismas|^(talk) 01:08, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Because in the US and likely most everywhere the right to make derivative works is retained by the author. μηδείς (talk) 01:55, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

It's somewhat similar to The Twilight Zone episode "The Lateness of the Hour". Clarityfiend (talk) 05:52, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

There was a similar original Star Trek episode, where the girl was made by an immortal older man. She seemed to think of herself as more of a daughter, while he wanted her to be his wife. Then, when Captain Kirk saw her, he saw an opportunity to unzip his boots. :-) StuRat (talk) 23:08, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I believe that episode is "Requiem for Methuselah", right? Zzyzx11 (talk) 06:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Correct. StuRat (talk) 21:37, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

It's actually very similar to the award-winning 2011 "light scifi" (WARNING: MEGASPOILER) Spanish film EVA, the details are different, but some specific incidents are identical—more are being built, the girl also discovers her being artificial by snooping when she was told not to, and she accidentally "breaks" herself when she flees in confusion after finding out. If I saw your idea made into film, I'd honestly find it unavoidable to compare the two.-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 21:33, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

November 6

Bishop and knight mate

There are two main parts of the Bishop and knight checkmate. The first part is pinning the king to the bishop's opposite color, and the second part is bringing the king from the other color to the bishop's color. I have looked online several places trying to figure out how to do it. For the most part, I get the jist of it. But I can't find something that tells me how to do the first part, because the people assume that I already know how. Anybody know of a good place to look? Legolover26 (talk) 22:27, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

User:Bubba73 is a resident expert on chess. You might give him a try. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:02, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Bishops mating with knights? What liberal times! —Tamfang (talk) 01:14, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, after all, "Checkmate" is merely a slang way of saying what in formal technical chess terminology would be "You're fucked". Not many people know that. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 05:19, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Interestingly the basic word for "to kill" in Spanish, matar is derived directly from the chess term. μηδείς (talk) 17:11, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

"Checkmate" is not slang at all, but has been part of standard English since the 14th century, deriving ultimately from Arabic shāh-māt(a, and it means "the king is dead." "Mate" here has nothing to do with sex or mating. John M Baker (talk) 16:42, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

The first part is forcing the king to the side. The defending king should head for one of the two "wrong" corner. Then the second part is forcing the king to one of the two "right" corners. The first part is not as hard as the second part, but it does need to be covered better in the article (I'll see about doing it). The first example from actual games (the section on the "w maneuver") gives a game in which that was done. It really isn't very hard for the K+B+N to force the other king to the side, but I don't know if any procedure has been spelled out. I'll check though (it might take a couple of days). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 06:34, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

 Erledigt Could be a little more complete, but added. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 04:00, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

From my recollection, it's a rather tedious business. Any decent gentleman or lady should resign if they reduced to a lone king vs king bishop and knight. Forcing you to play out the move sequence in the hope you make a blunder and lose a piece or foul up the mating process and have to begin again leaving yourself vulnerable to the fifty move rule is someone you really don't want to play with. Quintessential British Gentleman (talk) 20:09, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Grandmasters have failed to win it! (See the article.) Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:14, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I almost had it come up in a tournament once. I had a bishop, knight, and one pawn. The opponent had a bishop or knight. We played a few moves like that, then I realized that if he gave up his piece for my pawn, I'd have to try to checkmate with bishop and knight, and I did not have confidence that I could do it. So I made sure to protect my pawn from being exchanged (and won). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:25, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

November 7

Football Manager and your decisions

I'm curious as to how and to what extent your decisions affect how a game of Football Manager plays out. Has anyone ever tried looking into this? Perhaps by saving the game at various point and trying several things: some similar, some very different, some generally believed to be good, others bad and see what the game does for all of these. --31.205.16.198 (talk) 01:56, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Football Manager (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

Link to article added for those wondering what the OP is talking about. Dismas|^(talk) 03:08, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

If what you want is to see how a player's decisions affect the gameplay, might I suggest watching some Let's Plays? A search of "Let's Play Football Manager" on Youtube turns up several results. Sophus Bie ^(talk) 13:00, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

People have done "experiments" like that before (search the SI Games forums) but it's usually easier/more fun to just play and lose and chalk it up to experience. For example, every time I try to use a formation that isn't 4-5-1 with wingers, I get destroyed, so I just use that all the time. No need to experiment! If you have a specific thing you're thinking about, I might be able to help. Recury (talk) 20:57, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Richard Benjamin Harrison (Pawn Stars)

Hi geniuses, does anyone of you know when is Richard Benjamin Harrison's exact birth date? Currently it is listed as March 4, 1941 on the wiki page, and the source quoted is this [1], in which he is reported celebrating his birthday on March 4, 1941. But this year, he celebrated it on March 2, 1941. [2], [3] So when's the exact date? (Celebration need not be on the actual birth date.) Bonkers The Clown (talk) 07:25, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Could you dial down on the condescension? Calling editors who use the reference desk "geniuses," especially when you pipe link that to nerds like you did here [4] is just a dick move. Livewireo (talk) 18:27, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Thats not really answering my genuine question. Bonkers The Clown (talk) 06:10, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Hm. So ya prefer "non-genius"?? Bonkers The Clown (talk) 06:10, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

How about neither. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 08:14, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

How about you answer my question! This reference desk is indeed "helpful", by commenting on my "condescension", instead of answering me. Bonkers The Clown (talk) 08:38, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

How about you acknowledge that we're all volunteers here, not your personal army to dictate orders to. You may yet need to learn the lesson that, in life, how we do things almost always matters as much as what we do. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 11:06, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Okay I understand Jack (a.k.a Guru of the Philosophy of Life). I'm so enlightened. I acknowledge it all. Now, would you please, kindly, volunteeringly forget about the past, forge on to the future, and once again, helpfully answer my question? Bonkers The Clown (talk) 07:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

By now you could have done your own research. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:40, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

What does the Klingon QonoS (not Qo'noS) mean in English?

I looked at the Klingon version of Google's main search page and noticed that the link to Blogger was labeled QonoS. I went around looking at Klingon language websites but have not found one offering a translation of QonoS without the apostrophe. Anyone here know? 20.137.2.50 (talk) 14:27, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

According to The Klingon Dictionary it means "journal, log". (It's always fun when I can pick up a book off my shelf and answer a question...I never thought it would ever be that one, though!) Adam Bishop (talk) 01:05, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Frontalini piano accordion

looking for info on a frontalini piano accordion 71524 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.137.76.106 (talk) 20:54, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

I added a title. StuRat (talk) 21:35, 7 November 2012 (UTC)?

November 8

Dutch folk songs

What are some examples of authentic Dutch folk songs (especially work songs and/or children's lullabies)? I'm a big fan of traditional music, but I know mostly British and American folk songs. Thanks in advance! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 01:27, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia has an article titled Music of the Netherlands which has some information on Dutch folk music. There's a page at Dutch Wikipedia titled nl:Volksmuziek in Nederland which has some information as well (Google Translate should give you the gist if you don't read Dutch). The Dutch Wikipedia article nl:Volksliedje has some examples of folk songs. --Jayron32 02:25, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

For children there is a nice list here that has almost all songs I can think of. A surprisingly high number seem to be related to Sinterklaas. I wouldn't know any work songs though they probably exist. Not for children per se, the most typical folk song would be Piet Hein, about Piet Pieterszoon Hein who managed to steal a lot of silver which apparently made him a hero. Piracy was perfectly legal at the time, similar to (this being the reference desk and not a forum) something else. Joepnl (talk) 02:33, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, I think I'll have to keep looking. Thanks anyway! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 07:04, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

On second thought, "Piet Hein" sounds like a good choice, although a bit too heroic for a simple worker to be whistling it casually. 24.23.196.85 (talk) 07:24, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Even better, "Heer Halewyn" sounds just like what I was looking for. Am I right that it's about a young maid getting kidnapped, like in the Irish song "Gypsy Davy"? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 07:52, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

That song doesn't sound like a work song to me (whistling this?). I don't know about Gypsy Davy, but this is about a real princess, not a maid, lured by beautiful singing "mr Halewijn" who for some reason wants to kill her. After asking several family members it's her brother who finally gives permission to go see him. She is also beautifully dressed, but many lines devoted to clothing is not unusual in medieval songs. As she is so beautiful she gets to decide how to be killled. She chooses the sword, which was the standard royal way, and tells Halewijn to take of his jacket because killing a virgin is a messy business (at least that's what she says). While he's taking his jacket of she gets to kill him instead. After dismissing a request by Halewijn's head to get ointment she takes his head home (after washing it of course). Her father, the King, is very happy about the outcome of this adventure so he organizes a feast, with Halewijn's head on the table (the last fact may not have been in the original song according to nl:Heer Halewijn zong een liedekijn). here's a database of songs. Joepnl (talk) 15:10, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for all the info! On second thought, I'll probably try to find something more cheerful and less creepy. And it doesn't have to be an actual "work song" (as in, one that was written to ease heavy physical work, like "John Henry") -- rather, I'm looking for an upbeat, cheerful and fairly rhythmic song that someone might whistle while his hands are occupied with something else. 24.23.196.85 (talk) 23:25, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

You might like Merck toch hoe sterck about the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom (1622) which is pretty cheerful (obviously, as it celebrates getting rid of those pesky Spanish taxmen). I can imagine it being wistled while doing labor, in fact I'm whistling it now while doing laborious typing. You do get me wondering what you want it for. Joepnl (talk) 01:08, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I love it -- not only is it cheerful and rhythmic, but it also ties in well with the plot of the book I'm writing. You can get a pretty good idea of what it's about by looking at the other question I asked today.  ;-) 24.23.196.85 (talk) 03:21, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

And this link. 24.23.196.85 (talk) 03:26, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Ah cool :) Joepnl (talk) 14:37, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't want to give too much away, but the first part has to do with one of my secondary characters -- a common laborer (a chimney sweep, to be exact) who likes to whistle while working, and is doing just that when he sees an Allied plane get shot down and the crew bail out, and alerts the Resistance so they could go find the pilots and save them. And the second part, about children's lullabies, has to do with a subplot dealing with another operation to get Jewish families out of the ghetto -- this op (not a part of my book's plot per se, but only talked about by one of my characters) is run by a British agent posing as a babysitter, who has to sing the small kids to sleep before hiding them in a double-bottomed container (either her own bag, or one of her partners' toolboxes) and sneaking them out (the adults and the older kids are provided with cover stories and false papers to effect their escape). I was thinking "Amsterdam" (the Dutch version of "Greensleeves") is suitably soothing, but I don't know whether it's appropriate for children ("Greensleeves" might or might not be, depending on one's point of view). 24.23.196.85 (talk) 22:57, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

See http://ingeb.org/catnl.html.

—Wavelength (talk) 23:40, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Which tune is this?

youtu.be/PTScpAaBE14?t=1h54m8s Thanks. 67.243.3.6 (talk) 04:41, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

I can't make that into anything like a URL. Can you be clearer about which video you're interested in? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:12, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Jack of Oz: youtu.be is a domain name registered by Google and used as a URL shortener for YouTube videos. The URL is valid, just paste it into your web browser address box. --Bavi H (talk) 02:10, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. I guessed as much, and I tried various things but nothing worked for me. Now, it does. Magic. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 04:58, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

That video is two hours long. Is there a specific part that you're referring to? What I heard in the minute or so that I watched seemed to be just incidental music which generally isn't named in the usual sense. Dismas|^(talk) 03:51, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Dismas: the ?t=1h54m8s at the end of the URL instructs YouTube to start playing at 1:54:08. I assume this is the segment 67.243.3.6 is asking about. --Bavi H (talk) 01:53, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

The initial chords do sound like Love Story (probably the most requested identification of "classical" music) but later it changes. I agree that it is probably just some generic music composed for the show.184.96.226.214 (talk) 08:25, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

MadTv

I have always wondered about this. Frequently, segments are parodies of shows,movies,soap operas,etc. or just making fun of individuals like politicians or celebrities. My question is do the producers ever get sued because some parodies can easily be called libel or slander? Do they get permission to use things that may be copyrighted like names, logos, phrases or do they just go ahead and use them? I am not talking about obvious references like "The Addams Family" being referred to as "The Adnauseum Family". I am talking more about making fun of Obama, Oprah, Beyonce by name or Walmart or shows like Jeopardy or The Price is Right or Scrabble which are mentioned by name (not just an obvious reference). Thanks.184.96.226.214 (talk) 07:48, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

The US Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell that, even if a parody is deliberately intended to be insulting, a public figure cannot collect damages. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:39, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

As to the second part of your question, about copyright, etc., see Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.. Shadowjams (talk) 22:24, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Jeopardy

On Jeopardy, when an adjustment to a score is made for an answer a contestant gave a few questions ago, what is the rule for the amount added/subtracted from the current score? I always thought that it was just whatever the wager amount of the question originally was but it looks like it is always more than that. Thanks.184.96.226.214 (talk) 07:48, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

It should be double the amount. If a contestant was credited for an answer/question that was actually wrong, they would lose the money they won by mistake, and also be penalized for giving an incorrect response. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:32, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Question about Final Destination 6 and 7

I read an earlier question on whether the films are going to be produced soon or not. My question is where and who should I contact to know whether or not the movies are coming soon. Thank you. Netwwork (talk) 22:52, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

WW2 bio

Hello all, where can I find biographies/autobiographies of the following people: Helene Deschamps, Odette Sansom, Peter Churchill, and Adolf Galland? Thanks in advance! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 23:30, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Oops, I meant Helene Deschamps Adams... 24.23.196.85 (talk) 23:32, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, she wrote Spyglass: An Autobiography in 1995. Seems to be available from Amazon, new or used. Alansplodge (talk) 23:44, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! And the other three? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 23:47, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

All three of those articles point to biographies. Books on Odette by Tickell and Starns; Galland's authorised biography by Baker, and the Setting Europe Ablaze site. Rojomoke (talk) 07:24, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks once again! I'll try to find them on Amazon. 24.23.196.85 (talk) 22:41, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

November 9

reface a clarinet mouthpiece

What does it mean to "reface" a clarinet mouthpiece? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Refacing a clarinet (or saxophone) mouthpiece usually means adjusting the length of the gap between the reed and the mouthpiece itself. Refacing is done mostly to change the responsiveness of the mouthpiece, but it can impact other factors as well. It's also a rather finicky procedure, requiring lots of precision sanding. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 01:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, is there a name for sanding out the tooth marks? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:28, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

The part of the mouthpiece where the player rests their teeth is the biteplate. Some biteplates are removable and/or replaceable. In that situation, you're talking about biteplate repair or replacement. Or simply describing this as "buffing out the tooth marks" might work just as well. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 02:49, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Resolved

thanks (I'm trying to describe one on eBay). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 03:09, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Help finding a movie name

I've seen a movie on TV which name ended in "Must Die" and before that there was a name, but I can't figure out which name it was. The movie has a presentation which shows that it was made in Japan or somewhere like that. The movie it's about the life of a boy who's friends who make him steal, and firstly his mother is angry with him because he'd been playing truant and he's never home. But then he starts viewing the videos of the company where he and his friends'd stolen and he kept a laptop. I've not seen the whole movie so I can barely say anything more.. I'd be pleased if anyone can tell me the name of this movie! 186.54.15.61 (talk) 02:52, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I suppose it's not Romeo Must Die? Adam Bishop (talk) 03:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Alpha Must Die: [5] ? StuRat (talk) 05:09, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

John Tucker Must Die? Evanh2008 ^{(talk|contribs)} 05:36, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Harmonix Songs Online

I may have tried to ask this before but I couldn't phrase it well.

Where can one find the bonus songs in Rock Band 1, 2, and (if any) 3 for download online? That is, is the music by the Harmonix employee bands available online? Are they too obscure? Is there a centralized location, or are they all on different record labels? If so, does it matter? The same goes for any of these in from the first two Guitar Hero games.

I suppose I went on a tangent, but I would love to know. 75.73.226.36 (talk) 03:44, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Looking for name & author of science fiction story

I heard a short story years ago about a young girl who lives with her father alone in an old house. There's a room to which she is perpetually denied access, until one day she breaks into the room and finds an electronic version of herself being constructed. Shocked, she races out of the room, falls down the stairs and breaks part of herself off, realizing that she herself is a robot. My question is... where does the story come from?Markjoseph125 (talk) 14:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Scroll up this page to 5 November, where the near-identical question was asked, and was answered to the best of the RefDesk's abilities at the time. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 14:12, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Excellent; but this just screams to have its original source in a 1950s science fiction story. I'm wondering if anyone can identify the story. Thanks!Markjoseph125 (talk) 05:21, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Help in recognizing two musical compositions

I think I've heard before the two pieces played in these videos (during the written times), but I can't remember their names.

1. 12:54–14:27
2. 05:12–06:21

Do you recognize them?

Thanks a lot! 109.64.211.75 (talk) 15:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

The first is the final galop from the "Dance of the Hours" from Amilcare Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda. It was famously danced by hippopotamuses in the original Disney film Fantasia. The first part of the piece (not heard in the clip) was parodied in the song "Hallo Mudda, Hallo Fadda".

The second is the "Can-can" from Jacques Offenbach's opera Orpheus in the Underworld.

See, opera can be fun (for all you operaphobes out there). -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 15:12, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! I actually like operas (and classical music), and now I found another one: 13:35–14:35. 109.64.211.75 (talk) 16:03, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

While I totally agree that opera can be fun, La Gioconda (opera), despite its name, is probably not the best example to prove this, as it has a gruesome and tragic plot. The Dance of the Hours is a rather incongruous interlude in the general gloom. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 22:54, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Dish Tv

Yes my question to you is why doesnt Dish Tv carry the Christian Channel 'The Word Network' - This channel should be included in the christian package. Access to all christian channels should be automatic with any package no matter what. Please keep me informed if any changes could be made within this satellite network. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.21.200.123 (talk) 16:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 4 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. Best of luck.Template:Z25 --Jayron32 17:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

I suggest you call the company, request the mailing address of their corporate office, and send them a letter. Letters like that get a lot of attention because they assume that you represent thousands of people with the same view who are too lazy to bother to write. μηδείς (talk) 20:23, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Hugo and Nebula First Contact

I am interested in getting lists of Hugo and or Nebula award nominated or winning novels which deal with aliens or alien first contact. Is there a way to search for the intersection of various categories that will get me what I want? How would I go about that? Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 19:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

WP:CATSCAN may help... --Jayron32 21:50, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

One that sprung to mind right away is Rendezvous with Rama. --Jayron32 21:51, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

First contact (science fiction) has some examples as well. --Jayron32 21:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Rendezvous with Rama was great, but it had no effing sapient aliens! (Tried to read the sequel, but wasn't able to get into it. A Gentry Lee novel, no?) I will try CATSCAN. Thanks. But more suggestions will be welcome. μηδείς (talk) 23:50, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, then who built Rama? --Jayron32 05:32, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

***

The Lama Ding Dongs of course. Anyhoo, there's Have Space Suit — Will Travel, The High Crusade, Little Fuzzy, Ringworld, The Gods Themselves, The Mote in God's Eye, Titan, The Pride of Chanur, Cuckoo's Egg (sort of), Footfall, The Forge of God, and A Fire Upon the Deep for the earlier Hugo winners and nominees (not that familiar with the more recent).Clarityfiend (talk) 06:57, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

***

Here's a little RD-best marquee for the lama ding dong answer. I have read all those books except Titan, Cuckoo's Egg and The High Crusade, and Little Fuzzy--which I actually began reading yesterday! I have tried to read A Fire Upon the Deep but I can't stand the guy's style. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 16:28, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I asked the same question in IRC not too long ago. From the suggestions offered, I read and finished the main novels of the CoDominium series. As for the rest of the Rama series... they were meh. I'll save you the trouble by telling you that in the end even the "administrators" who oversaw the "collection" of samples of sapient lifeforms didn't have the faintest clue of who built the cylinders and the waystations as well, kind of like the monoliths in the 2001 series.

Though I'm pretty sure you've probably read these as well, I recommend Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, which I'm reading through myself right now, though they're not Hugo or Nebula winners. I've just finished the first four book, and I liked them so far. Even though it gets pedantic and repetitive (ideas and entire paragraphs often get transplanted verbatim from one book to another), it still contains some of the most alien settings I've encountered in science fiction. I recommend Flux and Raft especially, though they're technically not first contact novels. I'm having trouble getting into the first of the next books in the series though, the first of the Destiny's Children arc is set in the boring present... meh. I'm planning to put it off a bit and read Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series which has raving reviews (though also no Hugo nor Nebula).

You might also try using Goodreads to look for lists of books on that topic. Like this one on "Best aliens". And... OOOOOOOOOOH. A new Culture novel is out! :D *Disappears* -- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 17:32, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

November 10

Sega Saturn 3D/polygonal police-action beat-em-up game?

I played an arcade game in Akihabara on vacation a few weeks ago, which was a kind of retro beat-em-up game from the 1990s. The graphics were composed of polygonal models and environments instead of hand-drawn imagery, and you controlled a generic-looking police officer who brawled his way past various eccentric criminals and baddies. You could pick up all sorts of objects and use them as weapons. I asked the owner if the game was only on the arcade and he replied, "No, Sega Saturn." I thought I got the name of the game, which was something like "Metro Cyber City 2000" or something like that (don't remember exactly), but later at my hotel I looked it up, and it turned out that the logo scrawled on top of the game's cabinet was the name of the company that produced the cabinet. Oops.

I didn't catch the title in the game's intro graphics either, so does anyone know what game I played? --66.235.32.59 (talk) 00:11, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

We have a list of Sega Saturn games, so my guess would be as good as yours just going through there. There's also a list of arcade video games, so you could look for games that appear on both lists. It wasn't Die Hard Arcade, was it? It's from the 90s, has polygonal graphics, and has a "a variety of weapons that can be collected from enemies or the environment, from household items such as brooms to high-damage anti-tank cannons." Despite the name, it didn't really have anything to do with Die Hard, except that it took place in a skyscraper. The villain had kidnapped the president's daughter, and the goal was to rescue her. Could that be it? --BDD (talk) 04:06, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Yes, that was it! You're right about it not resembling Die Hard -- even the game's villain looked nothing like Hans Gruber, it was more like some old Chinese guy with a large Santa beard. Damn fun game, though, so now I know what to seek. Thank you. --66.235.32.59 (talk) 19:18, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Does Robert Gant who played Ben on Queer As Folk sound and look like Kevin Sorbo?

Does Robert Gant who played Ben on Queer As Folk sound and look like Kevin Sorbo? Does Robert Gant who played Ben on Queer As Folk sound and look like Kevin Sorbo? I saw look at Queer as Folk reruns and I thought those to actors look like they could be brothers or something! And does Robert ever do action movies? Neptunekh94 (talk) 00:14, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

We aren't here to tell you what your opinion is. You can decide for yourself if you think they sound or look alike. --Jayron32 00:17, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

If the photo in the Gant article is any indication, the answer, in my observation, is NO. But if you think otherwise, then that's your opinion and could just as easily be right as mine. As for the types of pictures he makes, that would either be in the article or be linked from the article. P.S. How many Neptunekh.. user ID's do you have? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:46, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Younger Guy, Older Lady celebrity romances

Have their ever been a male celebrity in his 40's who is with a woman in her 60's or a eighty something lady celebrity with a sixty something guy? Neptunekh94 (talk) 18:55, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't know about those specific ages, but Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were an item for many years and she's 15 years older than him, meaning that for at least some of their relationship she was in her 40s while he was in his 20s. --Jayron32 22:01, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

When Elizabeth Taylor was married to Larry Fortensky, she was between the ages of 59 and 64, while he was between the ages of 39 and 44. However, he hardly qualifies as a celebrity since no one would have heard of him if he hadn't been married to her. Angr (talk) 22:19, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Trying to remember a horrible Scandinavian bubblegum pop music video

A few months to about a year ago, I think, a Norwegian friend of mine linked me to this music video, but I can't remember what it is. It was pretty recent. The singer was a young woman, apparently recently removed or evicted from some type of American Idol-like reality show. She was made up to look very young (with pigtails, IIRC) and held a large rainbow-swirl lollipop throughout the song. The song was bubblegum pop, reminiscent of Aqua. It was in English with sexually suggestive lyrics, and I think "candy" was used in the chorus. She had a thick Nordic accent and I think her voice was autotuned in some parts. Suffice to say, it was very bad.

Anyway, I remember it because it was widely parodied in the Scandinavian countries at that time. The comments on YouTube revolved largely around different Scandinavian users pretending to be citizens of their neighboring countries, and then posting in their native languages urging their countrymen to do the same. The objective being to fool English-speakers into thinking that she came from another Scandinavian country rather than theirs (thus disowning her). And then the citizens of the other country also claimed that she was instead from another country (all of them relying on the inability of English-speakers to distinguish between the three Scandinavian countries easily). She got passed around Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians I think, though I can't remember her actual nationality. Does anyone know what that song was? -- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 20:42, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Beethoven's Deafness

I recently heard that, after Beethoven's deafness was almost total, while he was playing, he placed a part of his body in order to feel the sound waves. He could not have place a hand on the piano, for one needs both hands in order to play, and he were to place his ear on the piano, I believe that would be such a contorted position that playing would be rendered almost impossible. I would like to know if this is true. I have researched this topic on the internet, and have found nothing to date. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tauldi (talk • contribs) 20:52, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Question on Glee

Who are the non-American actors on Glee? I know of Cory Monteith and Vanessa Lengies who are Canadians. Are there more foreigners? Thank you. Watterwalk (talk) 21:51, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Is there something preventing you from clicking the blue-linked name of each cast member and checking each biography yourself? Because I'm pretty sure that's what anyone trying to answer you question for you here at the Reference Desk would do. --Jayron32 21:59, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Okay, there's no need to be so rude. Watterwalk (talk) 22:29, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

The Young Ones dialogue (sort of) question

Can anyone help me fill in the lacuna in the following extract from Bachelor Boys? "Me" is, of course, Rick.

BOY GEORGE: "Do you really want to hurt me?"

ME: "Yes!"

ROD STEWART: "D'you think I'm sexy?"

ME: "No!"

MICK JAGGER: "I can't get no satisfaction"

ME: "I'm not surprised [missing bit here]. I bet that even a can of Cydrax gives you a runny bottom! Ha, ha, did you hear what I said, everybody?"

Tevildo (talk) 23:43, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Question about a weird 80's song with an electrically generated voice

I heard an 80's song with an electronic voice on the radio here in Knoxville, TN USA on the way to work this morning. I am trying to find the name and lyrics of the song. When I turned it to the station, the song was already playing, but I think that it was close to the beginning. There was a narrator and a voice in the song. The voice (an eerie electronic voice) called the narrator's house (I think) and purported to be the narrator's mom and asked something along the lines of if she was home or not. The narrator and the voice interacted and the narrator ended up asking "who the voice was, really?". I can't remember much of what was said between them but I remember something about flames (or fire) was coming, but the flames (or fire) was american made, they are made in america. I think it's a pretty obscure song, but I hope someone can help me out. --174.50.224.31 (talk) 00:42, 11 November 2012 (UTC)