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July 21

how to explore World Music

Which world music would be nice to hear? say chinese or russian like that? Have anyone experimented? If possible, tell the shoutcast station for that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.96.23.17 (talk) 14:40, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

try mbalax from senegal specifically Ismaël Lô very good stuff, an i usually listen to metal. Its very techincal in its guitar work, and has some great melodies. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 15:39, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

In my view there is no better introduction to world music than the Rough Guide series of compilation CDs from around the world. Take a look at this page, about Volume 1, and follow the links from there. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:50, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Another recommendation is the world music section of cdbaby ([www.cdbaby.com]). You can listen to samples. There's good and bad music from most parts of the world, but most people have their own preferences. I like world fusion (mixing modern western styles with non-western music). Cold Fairyland from China, Haydamaky from Ukraine, Corvus Corax from Germany, Ozomatli (Mexico/California) are some that have caught my attention. Steewi (talk) 01:17, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

"World music" is an ethnocentric term ("everything that is not from my culture"); you will have to tell us where you are from. If you are not from North American/English culture, then some suitable "world music" might include Guided by Voices, Spoon, The Beatles, John Coltrane, Radiohead? Etc. etc.? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:33, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It's an accepted term and it's quite clear what the questioner was asking about. From World music: "...a shorthand description for the very broad range of recordings of traditional indigenous music and song from around the world." In any case, you are wrong to list those artists, who cannot be described as world music no matter where the querent is from. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 06:02, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Accepted by whom? It is an ethnocentric term, and my reply was challenging that. Some other culture, say the Khoikhoi, may refer to non-Khoi music as "world music", in which case those bands would be included. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 09:51, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Accepted by many people such as the Rough Guides (see my first link), who can hardly be accused of ethnocentrism. Your understanding of the way the term is used in everyday language is flawed. It does not mean "everything that is not from my culture"; it means music that is closely related to the indigenous music of the region of its origin. Thus, Radiohead cannot be described as world music by anyone from any culture, because their music (guitar based rock, for the most part, with recent leanings towards electronica) is not closely related to the indigenous music of the British Isles. Whereas someone like Martin Carthy could be described as world music, because his music (traditional folk) is related to the indigenous music of the British Isles. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 10:49, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

That's interesting Twas Now. So would it be odd that in the "World Music" class I took we studied traditional bagpipe music from various parts of Britain (and Ireland)? Or how about the Appalachian folk songs we studied? As Richardrj pointed out, the term "world music" usually refers to music which is strongly influenced by indigenous musical traditions regardless of their geographic origin.--droptone (talk) 12:18, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

One definition of "indigenous peoples" is a "cultural group who formerly or currently inhabits a region, alongside other cultural groups, during the formation of a nation-state". The Beatles and Radiohead almost certainly qualify, but you insightful people are right: the other three examples may not have had ancestors in America by 1776. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:17, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

You still don't get it. It's not about indigenous peoples, it's about indigenous musical traditions. Most cultures have traditions of music making going back centuries (hence those traditions are exclusively about acoustic music). Whether something is world music or not is defined not by where it comes from and who makes it, but by what it sounds like, i.e. do its musical properties (rhythm, harmony, timbre, melody and so forth) conform with the indigenous musical tradition of the region it comes from. There is no indigenous musical tradition, anywhere in the world, of guitar-based rock, hence neither the Beatles nor Radiohead qualify as world music. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 22:35, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

So, because electric music is not an old enough tradition, it doesn't qualify? It would be imprudent to predict that electric music will continue to be a mainstay of British and American music, but I have a feeling that might be the case, and eventually such music will be considered "traditional". I guess the only problem is that we haven't reached the point where we can call it that. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 02:45, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

No, rock music will never be considered traditional, because there will always be traditions that precede it. I reiterate: the Beatles cannot, and never will, be world music, no matter where in the world it is being looked at. Hence, your accusation that the term is ethnocentric is baseless. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:28, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I see. I wasn't aware that only the oldest musical tradition in a given region is considered world music. Is it the oldest known tradition or the absolute oldest tradition? If it is the latter, then most (or all?) world music is extinct. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 12:46, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

book writing

I want to read a book, however i dont think there is one writen with this subject, how would i get some one to write this book, or is there one already? Enoch from biblical times is born and lives his life, but never dies, and continues on having adventures through babylon, rome ect, becomes the wandering jew in the bible continues to live on through the dark ages, becomes napolian, but does not die, lives on to become Rasputin, and finally hitler, escapes and lives on. I think this would make an interesting story, fiction of course but is there such a book? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 15:24, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't know of such a book, though can recommend The Source, a historical novel by James Michener that pretty much covers the time period you describe. The plot is structured around an archaeological dig in modern Israel, with a story taking place in the time period for each of 18 levels – and in each story, there's a character who's a descendant of the previous one (but changing ethnicity). -- Deborahjay (talk) 16:22, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh, and for the benefit of those who might not follow the link you provided, I wouldn't call the Wandering Jew "biblical." Rather, the figure is based on a legend arguably linked to the Gospels, but certainly not the Old Testament. -- Deborahjay (talk) 17:04, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

A couple of interesting books with similar (but not nearly the same) themes are The Meq by Steve Cash (about somewhat immortal beings through history) and Between The Rivers by Harry Harrison (about Sumerian Gods, immortality and the rise of the thinking man). Steewi (talk) 01:24, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Not to be a wet blanket but I don't think the character development in the storyline would be believable. According to the Torah story Enoch was taken away because he was a good man but the rest of your story is stuff you associate with bad men. Unless you can really fandangle a way to either make him bad or make those other people and events good the disconnect would lose me as a reader. Otherwise I think it's clever and epic. Maybe find some other guy to be your immortal or have Enoch be, like, Ghandi or something. -LambaJan (talk) 16:01, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Seriously? A "wandering Jew" becomes Hitler? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:27, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Your character could pick up some segue tips from this guy who started out in 1710 (but why start there?) and just goes on and on... Julia Rossi (talk) 05:34, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Simenon's Maigret

Hello,

I am almost finished reading Simenon's first Maigret mystery, Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett, but I have a few questions. I really am enjoying the novel, but I am puzzled by two things. First off, how is Maigret pronounced? I am not sure if the "t" is silent, or if there are any other ways to pronounce the name. Also, how do you picture Maigret? For some reason, I am having trouble seeing him in my mind's eye. I know he is very tall and has brown hair, but beyond that I'm at a loss. Thanks a lot! I'm sure I will enjoy reading the Maigret novels more after I know a little more about him.

Mike MAP91 (talk) 16:24, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

It's usually pronounced "May-gray". And here's Rupert Davies in the role, from the old BBC series, to give you one interpretation of what Maigret looks like. Malcolm XIV (talk) 18:46, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

The one that Simenon called his "perfect Maigret", no less. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:26, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I've just added an image at Jules Maigret. Xn4 (talk) 00:16, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

For a man who wrote a hell of a lot of words, Simenon had a curious take on writing: Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness. -- JackofOz (talk) 12:30, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Iraqi Real Estate

Does anyone know how to buy Iraqi real estate?--Elatanatari (talk) 18:39, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

I imagine it's quite similar to any other country. First you would need to agree to a price with the owner, then sign and file the proper transfer of property documents with the appropriate Iraqi agency. However, there may be quite a few properties where the ownership is disputed for "ethnic cleansing" reasons. A Kurdish-owned property that was confiscated and given to a Sunni family may officially be listed as belonging to the Sunni family, but a court may later decide that the transfer of ownership was invalid and that any sale of that property is therefore void. StuRat (talk) 21:49, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

...and when you are all finished, there you are in the Middle East with a scrap of official paper stating your claim to occupancy, but no-one who knew your great-grandfather, no brothers of your brothers-in-law, all with rifles in the house, no neighbors of your uncles or cousins to take your part... just the paper...--Wetman (talk) 22:42, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Haha, I figured the process would be similar, but does anyone know any of the details, intricacies, agencies, quirks? Stuff like that. --Elatanatari (talk) 01:02, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

What do you mean by "buying" Iraqi real estate? What rights do you want to purchase? The right to say that you own it? The right to farm it? The right to assets and resources on the land? The right to sell it? The right to bequeath it? Property rights are not monolithic. What westerners mean by "property rights" is usually a collection of separately enforceable rights that may or may not be legislated in other jurisdictions. In a race to the bottom versus Myanmar and Somalia, Iraq is the third most corrupt country in the world, and property rights are more or less meaningless in a country that lacks basic law and order. Plasticup ^T/C 17:34, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Glad you don't want to know about real estate in Somaliland because you need to be related to a high ranking warlord[1]. Julia Rossi (talk) 06:25, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

19 year olds

how many 19 year olds are their in the united states? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.118.239.144 (talk) 23:54, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

According to [2], there were 2,107,162 19-year old males and 2,020,693 females in 2000. (That's makes for over 10 million pimples, in case anyone is counting.) For 2008, you might want to look at the figures for 11 year olds in 2000, which was almost identical to the number of 19 year olds. StuRat (talk) 00:10, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

For various reasons, not all 11 year olds turn into 19 year olds. Plasticup ^T/C 17:26, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

But StuRat said "almost identical" :D − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Isn't it more accurate to say not all 19 year olds living in the US in 2008 were 11 year olds living in the US in 2000? There are two causes of this, 11 year olds who die before their 19th birthday and net migration (both legal and illegal). I'm very sure the US has a net immigration (more people moving in then out). According to [3] (an anti-immigration site, not exactly the sort of source I would rely on but most of their figures are referenced). "Each year there are approximately 4 million births in the U.S. and 2.4 million deaths.24, 25 The growth due to natural increase (total births minus deaths) is therefore 1.6 million per year. Yet according to the Census Bureau's decennial census, U.S. population is growing by approximately 3.3 million per year.26". (I presume this includes illegal immigrants are resonably accurate as possible) The figures somewhat agree with immigration to the United States "Bureau figures show that the U.S. population grew by 2.8 million between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005" (3.3 million is bit high compared to 2.8 million but perhaps it's gone down since the last census?) and [4] states the preliminary number of U.S. deaths in 2004 was 2,398,343. In any case this leads to a net migration of ~ 1.2-1.7 million. This is lower then the number of deaths but bear in mind the vast majority of deaths are not in the 11-19 range. Of course most migrants are not in the 11-19 range either but some would be (some refugees, whole families, people bringing their children or adopted children in) my guess is the number of 19 year olds in 2008 in the US could very well be higher then the number of 11 year olds in 2000. It's probably not that different likely within the margin of error of the census but there's no reason to presume there are fewer 19 year olds in 2008 then 11 year olds in 2000 IMHO. Nil Einne (talk) 18:36, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

July 22

Economics: how do you share utilities in 2 apartments?

I am in the process of dividing a single family home into 2 apartments, each with a separate entrance. The house has 1 central air unit. I will have 1 electric bill, 1 oil bill and 1 propane gas bill for the total. Upstairs apartment has the thermostat and thereby controls the furnace and air conditioner. Downstairs apartment has no thermostat but could use a space heater or window air conditioner or could simply open the windows if he chooses.......My initial plan was to "estimate" utilities for downstairs renter (how, I'm not sure) and include utilities in the rent. Then upstairs renter would control the utilities and pay the bills (less "estimate"). Even if this worked, I wonder how the relationship between the 2 renters would evolve since they would have to be interdependent......One additional point of information. Upstairs renter has lived in the whole house 9 years and so we have a history of utility use for that period. I decided to divide the house because upstairs renter can't afford it by himself anymore. My taxes and expenses have been rising drastically and I think I can get more rent out of 2 apartments than out of 1 house......Economic and philosophical feedback is welcome.Quakerlady (talk) 04:01, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Having lived in an apt similar to the downstairs one you describe, the fairest thing to do is to have utilities "included" in the downstairs apartment's rent. It's not fair to charge them a fluctuating rate for utilities that they have no control over. You could charge the upstairs renters a fraction of the utilities based on their percentage of of the building giving them an incentive to conserve since they control the thermostat, but not charging them for heating/cooling the other apt. —D. Monack ^talk 05:42, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I like this suggestion. It seems straightforward and fair. Thank you.Quakerlady (talk) 06:03, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Even for the utilities his options use (window AC unit uses electricity, etc)?--droptone (talk) 12:06, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Have you asked the utility companys about the cost of installing separate meters? Since they will get more money (two standing charges, etc.) they may not charge much for the initial work. Depending on your market you may want to install private coin meters. When I was a student this was common, you would use the coin meter and the land-lord would empty it and pay the main bill. He made a mark-up on this, and it had the advantages that students are notorious for moving on without paying bills or leaving a forwarding address. Of course up market renters would not want to bother with coins for meters. -- Q Chris (talk) 12:41, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Just as an aside, the Utility submeter article is interesting. I just added a section on Utility submeter#Submetering in the world to describe the type of submetering I have experienced in a few European countries. This may not be relevant to the OP, who I assume is from the USA. -84user (talk) 14:36, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

As a former landlord, please believe me that, unless you want arguments every which way and bad feeling between your tenants, you need separate thermostats even if you are including the HVAC costs in the rent. It will always be colder upstairs in winter and hotter in summer and your downstairs tenant will thus be too hot in winter and too cold in summer because of the choices of the upstairs tenant. (And just wait to see what happens when one tenant has a new baby or the other has her very old and ill parent move in.) I don't know of coin meters in North America; I have only ever seem them in England, Scotland and France. The more separate you make things and the more you put under the control of the tenant in each space, the fewer the arguments and the fewer the complaints -unless you are a big fan of midnight phone calls. ៛ Bielle (talk) 16:32, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm almost entirely in agreement with you, Bielle, but I think you've got the temperatures half-switched. The upstairs will always be warmer - summer or winter. If the guy upstairs cranks the AC in the summer to cool his apartment off, the guy on the bottom will freeze. Come winter, the guy upstairs will be toasty long before the guy below can warm up. Matt Deres (talk) 17:53, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I know that, in science, heat rises, but my experience in houses says that it only goes as far as the ceiling on any given floor when you are talking furnaces. Unless there is a separate heat source for the upper floors, the lower ones all seem to "bleed off" most of the furnace's efforts before warm air reaches upstairs. Perhaps it is because of the longer ducts, or a deflection of the air to the lower floors first, in a forced-air system, or because, with rads, the hot water reaches the lower rads first, but I have never known a house in winter where the second floor was warmer than the first. (I have never lived in a house with electric heat; that may make a difference.) Whatever the differences in our experiences, however, they both point to giving each tenant his/her own controls. ៛ Bielle (talk) 15:11, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The top floor also loses more heat to the environment, in winter, through the ceiling. StuRat (talk) 16:05, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Heat doesn't just rise "in science" y'know; it rises everywhere. ;-) My post wasn't specifically based on an understanding of thermodynamics though, but on experience; there's at least a five degree difference between top and bottom levels in my five-level back-split, perhaps more. I've endured lived in student apartments on many different levels and never found any to the contrary of that, though the effect seems less in the winter. So in conclusion, yeah, he should get a separate thermostat. :) Matt Deres (talk) 17:00, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

You could get a situation where the two tenants have opposing devices running continuously, say the upstairs tenant has the A/C on while the downstairs tenant has the space heater on. This can even happen unintentionally. So, I concur that you need to separate the utilities as much as possible. StuRat (talk) 16:09, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Poem suggestions for a composer

Marriage à-la-mode, Shortly After the Marriage (scene two of six).

Once before I’ve asked for help finding specific poetry for me to set to music here (I’m a composer), and the desk responded admirably. Might I trouble you again for a similar favor?

I’m looking for a few somewhat satirical poems (or excerpts of text). The poems should still be thought provoking and skillfully written. I was thinking of something that would be the poetic or prose equivalent of Marriage à-la-mode. Any suggestions?

The text must also be public domain since I’m creating a derivative work with them. --S.dedalus (talk) 06:45, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

There's the Robert Southey dedication to Don Juan (Byron), but it might all be a bit obscure. --Tagishsimon (talk) 10:13, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

How about Dorothy Parker's "From a Letter from Lesbia". (Granted, it might perhaps be a bit too self-referential for your request ;-) ---Sluzzelin talk 10:25, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

First thing this reminded me of: Ogden Nash's little quip on marriage (To keep your marriage brimming, / With love in the loving cup, / Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; / Whenever you’re right, shut up.).  :) Anyway, what about a modern reworking of one of the songs in John Dryden's Marriage A-la-Mode play? Or an excerpt from Chaucer such as The Shipman's Tale. I also saw that the satire article has several links to ancient and medieval satirical texts (eg Horace), best WikiJedits (talk) 13:07, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

How about The Rape of the Lock? —Preceding unsigned comment added by MelancholyDanish (talk • contribs) 03:38, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

This may be a little too heavy, but many of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are satirical and already have a musical quality. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dukesnyder1027 (talk • contribs) 02:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Large Field Promotion

In the book Starship Troopers, there is a discussion of a Napoleonic era (or war of independence?) Midshipman who had a temporary field promotion to Captain due to a convoluted series of events. Heinlein called it the largest in-field promotion in history, and said the boy (who was 16 or so) was later court-martialled. Was there any basis to this, or was Heinlein fictionalising an example? If it's true, I imagine there's an article, but I couldn't think how to look it up without the name. Steewi (talk) 07:25, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

William Sitgreaves Cox. Algebraist 11:31, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Certainly sounds like Horatio Hornblower territory and the article mentions a few people that inspired those novels. Heinleins novel Starman Jones has a young man go from stablehand to captain on one voyage so its obviously a theme... 125.237.91.81 (talk) 11:44, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

David Feintuch's Midshipman's Hope is a SF novel with a similar theme. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 11:56, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Assuming the responsibilities of an incapacitated superior is not a field promotion, it is merely a responsibility of your position. A field promotion occurs when a superior officer says "You are promoted." For the temporary assumption of a higher position, there have surely been higher jumps than the four levels given by Heinlein. (e.g., sargent to colonel.) However, they occur in situations that are so disastrous that no record is available. -Arch dude (talk) 13:40, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

At least in traditional European armies, a seargent with the acting rank of colonel can't happen: a seargent is a non-commissioned officer, while a colonel is a commissioned officer. --Carnildo (talk) 21:51, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

There are captains and there are Captains. There will have been hundreds of midshipmen over the years who were captains, that is the senior officer of a ship. The rank of Captain, or Post-Captain, was permanent. So any officer, including warrant officers, could be a temporary captain, but nobody could ever be a temporary Captain. Angus McLellan (Talk) 23:19, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Cox was the one I was looking for. Thanks for the help on that. Steewi (talk) 03:45, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Declining Economy in the USA

Despite all major banks and mortgage companies currently suffering losses in the US economy, is there someone or entity that is actually profiting from all of this? Is there an entity that exists in the US in which the US economy problems is not affecting them but actually benefiting them? --JennaHunter (talk) 14:18, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Oil companies are apparently doing well. ConocoPhillips, in 2nd quarter earnings, posted a profit of $5.19 billion, compared with $3.13 billion in the comparable period in 2005. NY times article. COnocoPhillips is one of the first oil companies to report 2nd quarter profits this year.

The companies that pump crude out of the ground are doing well, but refiners (like Valero) and retail operations (like your local gas station) have small margins now. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:48, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Also, I read about companies that are paid by banks to fix up foreclosed homes that have been growing.

In addition, with higher food prices, especially with corn, farmers might be doing better than usual. Spencer^T♦C 14:39, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Not just farmers, but companies like Monsanto that sell to farmers. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:48, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

The farmers I hear from in Iowa aren't entirely sure if they're happy with the situation; like you say, they're getting more money, but their costs are higher, too. It's their suppliers and the processors, I think, that are making the money. --Golbez (talk) 14:50, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

People who sold real estate or stocks in real estate or financial companies at the peak made money, at the eventual expense of the people whom they sold to. People who have short positions in those stocks are doing well now. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:48, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

As Coneslayer suggests, the real beneficiaries are the high-flyers in the financial industry who gamed the system and produced bubbles first in stocks, then housing, and now perhaps in commodities. They have reaped huge gains in the form of salaries and bonuses, which they get to keep when the bubbles pop and the deals that they made go bad. In effect, their gains come at the expense of passive investors, such as people holding retirement funds. Governments of oil-exporting countries obviously also benefit from high oil prices, as do some oil companies in the U.S. and petroleum infrastructure companies such as Halliburton. Marco polo (talk) 15:37, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Anyone who buys up cheap real estate now will do quite well when the prices rebound. StuRat (talk) 15:35, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

_{Real estate prices in many regions are still quite high relative to incomes in historical terms, and relative prices generally overcorrect after a bubble to below the historical mean before reverting to the historical mean, so it seems unlikely that real estate prices in most regions will rise above present levels in real, inflation-adjusted terms. Marco polo (talk) 15:44, 22 July 2008 (UTC)}

In every single transaction, there is a buyer and a seller. When markets rise, buyers benefit by obtaining an item (stock, house) at a price that is lower than the price later in the day / week / month / year. When markets are falling, it is the seller who benefits. As long as we recognize that "up" is not good, and "down" is not bad, the rest follows easily. DOR (HK) (talk) 15:54, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I know it's a bit late but . . . overfed (and the question below). Anyway, I found this thread interesting. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 16:08, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Liquor companies always do well in recessions. Plasticup ^T/C 17:21, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Wal-Mart is making a killing, because people who ordinarily shop at Sears or Penney's are now shopping at Wal-Mart instead. There's a category of goods whose sales goes up when the economy goes bad -- Spam, perhaps, and maybe camping supplies for those who would otherwise go to Florida. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:29, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Maybe that will stop the protectionists from turning this into a full-blown depression. DOR (HK) (talk) 13:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

It's worth reviewing Inferior goods and, perhaps, Giffen goods. Demand for the first of these increases when consumer income falls; demand for the second increases as its price increases. --Tagishsimon (talk) 00:35, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The word countercyclical is often used in finance to describe companies that do well when the economy is doing poorly. They are usually companies that sell inferior goods, as tagishsimoon mentioned. The countercyclical article doesn't mention the finance defitition, only the economics one. I am too tired to find a source to cite right now, but I assure you, it's used on CNBC all the time. NByz (talk) 06:13, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Spam: The Ultimate Inferior Good -- Coneslayer (talk) 12:49, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Current News in Layman's Terms

Is there a website that list the current news of the world and explains it in layman's terms? For exapmle, a US man is not familiar with the goings on in Africa but just read an article about the unrest in the Congo. Is there a website that not only reports the current news of the Congo but also gives a bachground history as to why this is happening in the Congo? I hope I am explaining this correctly.... --JennaHunter (talk) 14:26, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

The BBC usually has country profiles linked from news articles. They often have a background panel which links to more BBC articles such as key facts. BBC's country profiles can be found here. -84user (talk) 14:49, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

And dare I suggest it, if the coverage is there, Wikinews usually links information back to Wikipedia. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:24, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

The New York Times website has this neat feature where you can double click a word/name/proper noun and it will give you the definition/biography/mini-encyclopedic article about it. It makes their stories much much better, as any confusion can be cleared up without leaving their site. Plasticup ^T/C 17:20, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

What is the legal age to get a tattoo in California, United States?

I would like to find out this information, and could not find it elsewhere. Thank you.--BurgerMan08 (talk) 20:06, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

According to this (seems reasonably reliable) it's 18, without exceptions. Fribbler (talk) 20:12, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

No exceptions? Really? Not even if you are 16 and have (both) your parents' permission? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 05:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The way that I read what he said was that if you are at least 18 then there isn't an exception such as "you can get a tattoo but only if your parent signs a consent form". And the source seems to confirm this. It also confirms that if you are under 18 it is illegal, even with parental consent. Dismas|^(talk) 10:10, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

help finding correct term

A while ago I played a flash game on the internet about seducing black girls with unnaturally dyed blond hair. The game gave this stereotype of person a specific name, but for the life of me I can't remember it. It was specifically black or dark colored women who dyed their hair blond. Anyone? 79.76.186.83 (talk) 21:13, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

"Aviation blonde" refers to women who have dyed their hair blonde, according to the Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aviation+blonde). Perhaps the term you're thinking of is similar? --Bowlhover (talk) 01:10, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Ganguro. 64.236.80.62 (talk) 10:41, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

YES!!! Thank you :) 79.76.186.83 (talk) 16:05, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Susan Rice and Condoleezza Rice

What is the connection between Susan Rice and Condoleezza Rice? -- adaptron (talk) 01:48, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

They both worked at State? They aren't related. --Golbez (talk) 01:57, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Right. [5] says "The Rices are not related". PrimeHunter (talk) 02:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for that grain of knowledge. StuRat (talk) 06:39, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

reckoning years B.C.

How did people who lived B.C. reckon the year they were living in? For example, we say that Plato founded the Academy in 387 B.C., but what year was it to Plato, who despite his talents could not see Christ coming in three-plus centuries? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dukesnyder1027 (talk • contribs) 01:58, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Many calendars with different years have been used through the times, and more than one is still used. See List of calendars. Hellenic calendars looks complicated and I don't know what Plato would have said. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:15, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

He presumably would have used one of the Athenian calendars whenever necessary, but that wouldn't be very useful in everyday conversation. For that he would have reckoned the year in terms of the eponymous archon. Since our January-December year cuts across two different years in ancient Athens, the archon in 387 was either Pyrgion or Theodotus, depending on when specifically the Academy was founded. That wouldn't have meant much to anyone outside Athens though; another "multinational" way of reckoning the year was by the Olympiad (387 would be the first year of the 98th Olympiad, unless my math is horribly wrong, which is quite likely...). He could have also reckoned the year in terms of some other well-known event; the death of Socrates for example (399), or the conquest of Athens by Sparta (404), would have been useful personal and political events. Adam Bishop (talk) 03:01, 23 July 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.210.170.49 (talk)

Note that the Anno Domini system was only invented in AD 525 and wasn't widely adopted until centuries after that. Many other year numbering systems were used before then and many are still used now. Regnal year numbering is still fairly common in Japan, for example, and according to the article was used officially in the UK until 1963. -- BenRG (talk) 10:36, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Photo identification

I'm trying to find the photo of a dirty-looking (rural?) girl from a poor region of China that won an award for depicting the area's underdevelopment. I've never personally seen the photograph, though, and know of it only because another person described it. --Bowlhover (talk) 02:03, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

She's not Chinese, but make sure Sharbat Gula isn't the one you're thinking of. Oddly, when I did a Google image search for "national geographic girl" to find that person's name, I also hit a picture of a Chinese (well, Tibetan) girl. Maybe this is what you're thinking of. Matt Deres (talk) 12:04, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Tibetan girl Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 17:29, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Flikr Picture Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 17:35, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

what qualifies as an essential governmental function?

what qualifies as an essential governmental function? I need to document this as well. Please Help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.83.64.218 (talk) 02:26, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Where and in which context? If the term is from a specific text then say which. Maybe a Google search [6] can help you. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:42, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

in the state of georgia specifically as used in the housing authority code —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.83.64.218 (talk) 02:46, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Most likely, the term "essential governmental function" is defined by the relevant code. If it is not listed in the code, it may be explained by case law. If you have access to a law library (most courts, law schools, universities, Lexis, WestLaw), ask the law librarian for help. To say more may constitute the practice of law.75Janice (talk) 02:08, 24 July 2008 (UTC)75Janice

Genealogical relationships

The question above about Condy and Susan Rice got me thinking. Strictly speaking, all humans are related. It's just that in many cases it would be impossible to identify the exact relationship. I read somewhere, lost now, that it would not be be necessary to go back any further than 55 generations, assuming all the records were available (which they're not), to establish the exact connection between any 2 random people who have ever lived are alive today (I struck out the "have ever lived" because clearly humans go back further than 55 generations.) Is this true, and how do they know about the 55 generations? If I took a random Inuit and a random Kalahari bushman, is it really true that they're no further apart than 55th cousins? -- JackofOz (talk) 03:30, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Within 55 generations, I'd assume that they wouldn't be a part of the same descent, but it's quite probable that there'd be some common people in their family tree, i.e. they have 6th cousins 5 times removed in common. Quite an assumption. There are groups of people who might be exceptions, that is, people in the highlands of PNG and in the deep Amazon would be harder to find a link to. However, 55 generations might be enough to do it. Steewi (talk) 03:50, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

This is the concept of most recent common ancestor. According to the article, estimates for the time during which the MRCA was alive range from approx. 30 000 years ago to as recent as 1000-2000 years ago. One to two millenia seems to be the amount of time required for 55 generations. --Bowlhover (talk) 04:04, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Checking the MRCA link shows that the estimate of 1000 years ago is for the MRCA of Western Europeans. TresÁrboles (talk) 20:36, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

That makes sense. Thanks for the answers. -- JackofOz (talk) 12:28, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

July 23

Cakes and Ale?

In the Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch states: "[...]Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" What exactly are the 'cakes' suppose to be? Cakes or something else?--Honeymane_{Heghlu meH QaQ jajvam} 05:20, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

According to John Leslie Hotson: Banbury cakes.—eric 06:37, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

See note at Cakes and Ale to the effect that cakes and ale are the emblems of the good life in the tagline to the fable attributed to Aesop, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse: "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear"..--Wetman (talk) 08:44, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Seashell Traveling

How many days would it take to reach the border of Scotland from London by carriage? How many days extra if the carriage was made of seashell?

Thank you!MelancholyDanish (talk) 06:56, 23 July 2008 (UTC)MelancholyDanish

What sort of carriage (railway carriage? Horse-drawn carriage?) and what kind of roads? That makes all the difference. I doubt whether anyone could make a useable carriage out of nothing but shell, which is very brittle.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:24, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

That depends on whether the hippocamps drawing the seashell carriage were winged or not. --Wetman (talk) 08:46, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Also, is the hippocamp African or European? 12.43.92.140 (talk) 16:08, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

The baseline is perhaps the ordinary stage coach journey. An advertisement in the Edinburgh Courant for 1754 reads:

" The Edinburgh Stage-coach, for the better accomodation of passengers, will be altered to a New Genteel Two-end Glass Coach Machine, being on steel springs, exceeding light and easy, to go in ten days in Summer and twelve in Winter; to set out the first Tuesday in March, and continue it, from Hosea Eastgate's, the Coach and Horses, in Dean-Street, Soho, London; and from John Somerville's, in the Canongate, Edinburgh, every other Tuesday, and meet at Burrow-Bridge on Saturday night, and set out from thence on Monday morning, and get to London and Edinburgh on Friday. In Winter, to set out from London to Edinburgh every other (alternate) Monday morning, and to go to Burrowbridge on Saturday night; and to set out from thence on Monday morning, and get to London and Edinburgh on Saturday night. Passengers to pay as usual. Performed, if God permits, by your dutiful servant HOSEA EASTGATE. ”

One supposes the hippocamps and seashell coach could improve on this, or why would anyone use them? Xn4 (talk) 17:21, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes! You've told me exactly what I needed to know. You guys are wonderful. MelancholyDanish (talk) 18:18, 23 July 2008 (UTC)MelancholyDanish

P. S. The article doesn't mention this or not, so are hippocamps able to travel on land? MelancholyDanish (talk) 18:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)MelancholyDanish

No, the hippocamp London-Edinburgh route closely follows the North Sea coast, crossing The Wash and following the same route taken when delivering coals to Newcastle.--Wetman (talk) 18:38, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

education of 25 year olds in the US and France.

1. What % of current 25 year olds living in the U.S. have a bachelors degree or higher? 2. In France what % of current 25 year olds have a university degree? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.118.239.144 (talk) 14:00, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

As of 2003, 27% of those 25 and over in the US had a college degree. Of those specifically 25-29, 28% had such a degree.[7] I expect there's not a major deviation likely to be found between "25 and up" and "25 only". — Lomn 15:23, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

As for France, I find conflicting and dubious information. USAToday reported 20% "college completion" for French students vs 17% for Americans, while The Economist noted a 24% degreed European workforce versus 39% American. The USAToday numbers in particular do not mesh well with anything I've found elsewhere (note also that France's 30% attendance vs 20% completion flatly contradicts the oft-echoed ~50% first-year dropout rate discussed by The Economist), but that's the closest thing I've found to a single number. — Lomn 15:55, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

If you use OECD statistics you have some chance of making a fair comparison. Itsmejudith (talk) 16:20, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. You must also check that the definition of "college degree" is the same for both countries. --Tagishsimon (talk) 16:32, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

OECD's online stats are hard to navigate, or I would direct you to the exact page. The International Labor Organization is another possibility. The definition of degree for France and USA will never be identical but you want to use the definitions that are accepted for international use. Itsmejudith (talk) 16:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Political prayer

Which religious groups, if any, accept (or promote) the use of prayer for political means, such as to influence an election or other political event? And among Neopagans and Wiccans, is it acceptable to use magic(k), spells and rituals for political purposes? 68.123.238.140 (talk) 16:01, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

• For the second question, there's no way to generalize about such things; there are almost as many varieties of neopagans and wiccans as there are neopagans and wiccans, and issues such as the ethics of ritual are one of the distinguishing features. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 17:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

I'd imagine it's quite common - for example as a child I remember praying as a group for 'the leaders of south africa to see sense and end apartheid' - that was in a christian church.87.102.86.73 (talk) 20:32, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh that sort of thing is, yes. Praying that leaders will be wise, honest and just is quite common in christian churches, but I don't know if that's the sort of thing they were asking about. Notice how that prayer did not ask for a specific electoral result, or even that those in charge be usurped. 79.66.124.253 (talk) 01:32, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

See Rule of Three (Wiccan). Wiccans are very reluctant to try to influence others. Corvus cornix_talk 23:33, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Religion and politics often get intertwined. See for example Christian democracy, Christian socialism, Islamism, Hindutva. Itsmejudith (talk) 00:05, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Indeed. Having formal separation of church and state is no guarantee this won't happen. -- JackofOz (talk) 03:52, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

July 24

corporate actions

How many corporate actions are available world over? What are the effects of these corporate actions? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pratapbalu (talk • contribs) 08:11, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Not entirely sure what you're asking but have a look at Corporate action if you haven't done so already. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 08:18, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

See this random page from google for a list that's definitely not exhaustive. The effects will vary from action to action. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 08:25, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

If you are asking how many different types of corporate action there are, then it is impossible to give an exact answer to your question. It is a bit like asking "how many different types of transport are there ?". First problem is one of where you draw the boundaries in your taxonomy - is a tuk tuk just a sort of three wheeled car, or is it a separate type of vehicle altogether ? Second problem is that folks are inventive - just when you think you have completed your list, someone invents the Segway. I think SWIFT tried to create a standard international list of corporate actions and came up with a list of seventy or eighty types, but I am sure that is not exhaustive. Gandalf61 (talk) 08:55, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if the OP is a francophone? In French, action can mean stock share. Rhinoracer (talk) 10:34, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Is it true that...

Arabic numerals were actually invented in India?

Indian ink was actually invented in China?

What country were French fries invented in?

Any more examples of items with names that wrongly claim which country they were from?

--218.186.12.11 (talk) 12:24, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes. See arabic numerals, india ink, and french fries.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 12:51, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Umm.., yes the Arabic numerals were first invented in India. Most of them were first inscribed in the 'Smriti' of the Vedas. According to the theorem of 'Boudhayan', all numerals come from 0-9.This has also been said in the 'Sankhyasutram'.117.201.96.18 (talk) 14:08, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Others that come to mind include Canadian bacon, the French disease. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 15:16, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Spanish flu. Rmhermen (talk) 17:20, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

English muffin, German chocolate cake, Russian dressing, French horn, English horn. Edison (talk) 18:50, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm surprised by the number of cat and dog breeds that are actually claimed to be from the regions of their name. I figured they would mostly just pick whatever sounded classiest. Dalmatians, at least, don't seem to be from Dalmatia. Recury (talk) 19:34, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

The most everyday example must be the turkey, which really is named after the country even though it's native to North America. (In French, by the way, they do even worse: their word for turkey is dinde, which means "from India".)

Other examples include Panama hats and Chinese checkers. --Anonymous, 17:50 UTC, July 24, 2008.

Guinea pig but not Guinea fowl. Rmhermen (talk) 20:05, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

A reverse example is the country Brazil, which some people believe is named after the brazil nut, which they believe is found only in Brazil. The Brazil nut is indeed native to Brazil, but also to various other South American countries. Brazil was named after a different tree, the brazilwood, which is native only to Brazil. The brazilwood tree produces no nuts (that I'm aware of; certainly no edible ones), and it got its name from the deep red hue of its wood, the early Portuguese colonists calling it “pau-brasil”, meaning “ember tree”. Brazilians don't call Brazil nuts "Brazil nuts", or use any words that look or sound like "Brazil". (Fascinating irrelevant fact of the day: Brazil nuts contain 1000 times more radium than any other food.) -- JackofOz (talk) 23:33, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Crushed Brazil nuts are sometimes found on Danish pastries. -- JackofOz (talk) 04:05, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Few "bohemians" would come from Bohemia; Chinese whispers are made up by anyone; god Jack is that right about radium? There's a tv ad currently in Oz about your subject, Cardigan is not about cardigans, etc, but Bega (a cheese brand and a town) is about cheese... Julia Rossi (talk) 10:02, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

The numerials that are currently used in many Arabic speaking countries most likely didn't originate in India but they call them Indian numerals. -LambaJan (talk) 15:28, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Attila the Hun

Is it true that Attila got a sword named 'the Sword of Mars' before assailing the Romans commanded by Flavius Aetius? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.201.97.83 (talk) 12:44, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

See Sword of Attila - annoyingly this is not linked to from Attila the Hun - perhaps a historian would know how to fix this??87.102.86.73 (talk) 18:08, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Improved the short aticle and made the connection.--Wetman (talk) 20:45, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Very happy to see that, thank you.87.102.86.73 (talk) 21:26, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

why is sir gawain not a prince?

just wondering.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.54.107.154 (talk) 13:03, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

The usual methods of becoming a prince are being born to a king and/or queen or (in some countries) marrying a princess. Did he do either of these ? StuRat (talk) 13:48, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Cecil Grandoff (talk) 14:39, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Gawain was the son of King Lot and nephew of King Arthur so it is a good question. Perhaps he is called Sir as all the other knights are - just as the round table was created to keep all the knights equal. Rmhermen (talk) 16:41, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

In fact, most Knights of the Round Table are sons of kings: Percival, Sagramore, Prince Claudin, Maleagant, Aglovale, Agravain, Ywain, Cligès, Erec, Gaheris, Hector de Maris, Lamorak, Sir Lionel, Ywain the Bastard, Tristan, Sir Tor, Safir, Mordred, even Lancelot. Rmhermen (talk) 16:53, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

It might be relevant that (according to the OED) the styling of the sons of the sovereign as 'princes' only dates back to the 17th century. Algebraist 18:13, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

However, the OED also states prince as in "any male of a royal family other than a reigning kin" has been used since at least the 14th century. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 17:13, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

King Arthur says he was in the 6th century, though, so that's still a big gap, the term could well have not been in use. I'm not sure how things worked in those days, perhaps being a knight was more prestigious than being a non-eldest son of a King? (Were any of the knights mentioned eldest sons?) --Tango (talk) 22:08, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

True, plus many of the popular accounts started around the 12th century (which is partly why Arthurian tales have a medieval setting). This would pre-date the 14th century definition bringing us to the older definitions of a prince. A prince in its earliest form was a leader. Thus to call Gawain Prince would be to give him the same rank as Arthur. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 01:23, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Dukes of Norfolk and Howard Family

I have been reading on the site for some hours and frankly I'm in a muddle. Would someone at your desk more astute than myself explain the connection between The Dukes of Norfolk (contemporary times) and The Howard family of Castle Howard?

Cecil —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cecil Grandoff (talk • contribs) 14:35, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

According to our articles, Castle Howard is the home of the Earls of Carlisle, who descend from William Howard, third son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. Of course, the modern Dukes of Norfolk descend from Thomas's first son, Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel. Algebraist 14:52, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Who is Conrad H. Roth?

Could someone with more advanced Google-fu than I unearth the credentials of a one Conrad H. Roth? His scholarship at Varieties of Unreligious Experience is most excellent, and I would love to use it to source humanities articles, but his scholarly affiliations need to be established to meet WP:SPS. Skomorokh 15:32, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

If google fails, you could just ask him. Algebraist 15:39, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

True, but a temperament as mischievous and arcane as his could easily deceive, and I've had luck with employing the skills of search engine experts before. Also, it's rather impertinent to ask someone whose identity is intentionally cloaked who they are really. Thanks for the suggestion, Skomorokh 15:43, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Why would anyone want to "source" humanities articles at Wikipedia from a "mischievous" blogger anyway?--Wetman (talk) 19:06, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Extremely helpful, thanks for contributing. Skomorokh 19:17, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Google scholar picks up no trace of a Conrad Roth (there is one, but his citations are all in the 1920s and 1930s). He sounds like an interesting guy, but I don't know that he has any publications. Steewi (talk) 01:55, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

How do we even know Conrad H. Roth is his real name (or that he's really Conrad)? If he's michievous as you claim, he could easily not be (if he's even a he). Nil Einne (talk) 18:17, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Given the obvious level of education and apparent absence of institutional links to the name "Conrad H. Roth", it's probably not his real name. I was hoping someone with greater sleuthing skills that I could uncover it, you see. Appreciate the response, Skomorokh 18:52, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Photograph copyright

Is it an infringement of copyright to use a photograph as the basis for a creative interpretation using another medium such as watercolor paint? Epsomdown (talk) 17:59, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Have a look at Derivative work. It depends which country you are in. Fribbler (talk) 18:10, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

All my teachers in art classes have insisted we use our own photographs if we need a picture as a basis for what we are going to label "original art". Even if there is not a copyright issue, there may be an ethical one unless you give full credit to the source of your inspiration. If your interpretation of the photo is far enough distant from the original that one could not be recognized from the other, someone would have a difficult time in proving infringement. ៛ Bielle (talk) 18:28, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Jeff Koons fell afoul of copyright infringement (seeRogers_v._Koons) with his String of Puppies sculpture based on another's photo, so I'd be careful. Rhinoracer (talk) 12:07, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Can one get a Professor Degree in USA just for his publications in Humanities?

Without serving as a tenured staff member in any university or college? Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.139.226.37 (talk) 18:03, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

While the meaning of professor varies, it is definitely a job description. There's no such thing as a 'professor degree'. Algebraist 18:08, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

If you mean "can one earn a PhD only by publications" then the answer is yes. A PhD requires a course of study and a thesis which may be published. Rmhermen (talk) 18:15, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

It is fairly unlikely that any serious university will issue a true Ph.D. (and not an honorary doctorate) to someone based purely on their publications, which I understand to mean here that they did not complete coursework, oral examinations, working with an advisor, etc. It's probably not impossible, but it's not very likely. --140.247.241.140 (talk) 18:20, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

My question was dealing with granting a professor title to somebody that does have a PhD, without hiring him/her as a tenured staff member. 128.139.226.37 (talk) 20:29, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

In which case the answer is yes, there are many professors (in the US say) who do not have tenure. Algebraist 20:31, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

I guess you mean to people who work as lecturers or instructors that are called "professors" in colloquial language only, although they didn't grant the title formally (as described in professor). But is it possible that somebody will have that title formally without teaching, because of his publications? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.139.226.37 (talk) 21:10, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Assistant professors and associate professors are non-tenured professors in the U.S. Lecturers and instructors are a different class (but are usually addressed as professor anyway) We have a whole article on professors in the U.S. linked from the professor article. Rmhermen (talk) 14:13, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Associate Professors are tenured in most systems. Assistant Professors are not, but are "tenure-track", in contrast to lecturers. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:20, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

It's unlikely but it's possible. Mike Davis, for example, was denied his PhD from UCLA, but turned his thesis into a very fine book, which basically won him a MacArthur "Genius" grant (talk about a f*** you to your former professors), and now he's a professor at UC Irvine. Again, it's a pretty anomalous situation—I doubt it happens often. But who universities hire as professors is at the discretion of the faculty and deans. I am sure some politicians end up getting jobs in this way after they retire from public office—at schools of government and etc.—whether they have PhDs or not. You'd have to have something of a "superstar" status, though. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:09, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

There's probably some law, 140.247.241.140, that requires the BBC news site to have had in the last week or so an example of the very thing you identify as not likely. Not that I disagree with you, more, I guess, that I want to support your "not impossible" observation: Veteran, 91, receives railway PhD

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/7510565.stm

Four Horsemen

Does anyone know who it was who decided to call Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett the Four Horsemen? I know it is the title of a DVD, but who coined the term for these four atheists? Thanks Kristamaranatha (talk) 19:36, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Google is your friend and if you try "Four Horsemen atheist coined" in Google's searchfield you will find the answer. According to this site: http://ichthyes.wordpress.com/four-horsemen/ it was someone named DJ Grothe an "associate editor of Free Inquiry magazine, and a program director of Center for Inquiry". The site also tells that the original name was: "the four horsemen of the counter-apocalypse". Flamarande (talk) 21:53, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

That sort of refers to it in a roundabout way, but the obvious derivation was from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:27, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I've found it ironic that while these men claim that religion is the root of all evil they would take on an apocalyptic name that itself represents death and destruction. Kristamaranatha (talk) 06:14, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

They "took on" nothing of the sort, and may have been largely unaware of the journalistic nonce phrase at Free Inquiry magazine, a "hook" for an article. --Wetman (talk) 06:19, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

It's hard to believe they would be "largely unaware" of the term, especially because Richard Dawkins himself advertises the DVD discussion between the four of them, called The Four Horsemen, on his website. Kristamaranatha (talk) 01:43, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Persian/Iranian Writing System throughout history?

1. Why did Persians abandon the Old Persian cuneiform? and 2. How was the Aramaic script able to influence all later forms for Persian writing systems, including Arabic, and why was it chosen to be used if Aramaic/Semitic nations did not conquer the Persian territories, but the other way around? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kharshayarta-shah Amritatvi (talk • contribs) 19:46, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

For one, the Achaemenid Empire began and ended at the same time Old Persian cuneiform did, so possibly, the script was only used for that empire.

For two (a), you might want to see Aramaic alphabet for more.

For two (b), Darius made Aramaic the official language of Persia in 500 BC. See Aramaic language for more.

I hope this helps! Spencer^T♦C 00:46, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Persia was conquered by the Arabs, so that explains the spread of the Arabic alphabet. Earlier, Aramaic was used because it was the most established literary language, and sort of an international spoken language, like Latin used to be and English is now. Adam Bishop (talk) 00:57, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

July 25

Government Crop Incentives

Where can I find informaton about government crop incentives that enable a farmer to make a profit. I have tried looking, but I haven't really found anything. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tyler123459 (talk • contribs) 01:13, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

And would you fancy giving us a clue about the country for which you want this information? --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:32, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

You might get in touch with your state or federal grain board/body/growers association relevant to whatever crop the farmer is producing, they might help you. Julia Rossi (talk) 09:45, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

In Europe the phrase to search for is 'crop subsidy'

In fact crop subsidy may be a good search term in the US as well http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=crop%20subsidy&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 87.102.86.73 (talk) 11:07, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

2 Secord Avenue

When did the fire on 2 Secord Avenue happened and where can I find full news articles on that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.14.118.50 (talk) 02:19, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried searching, like this? -- kainaw™ 03:38, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Searching Google for "2 secord fire" reveals many results, including [8]. --Bowlhover (talk) 03:51, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

three meals a day?

Does anyone know the origins of breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I read where the terms come from, but why is it that humans decided on three meals a day? Evaunit♥666♥ 04:10, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Don't forget second breakfast ! I imagine that in situations where food supply is adequate, the human digestive and metabolic cycle will establish a preferred interval of five to six hours between meals, and thus three main meals in a day. However, the timing and relative size and importance of these meals varies with culture and period in history - see this article from History magazine. Gandalf61 (talk) 09:18, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Ridiculous laws?

I need a few examples of real, ridiculous laws. Preferably non-American examples.

For example, I heard that it is illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant in some states of the USA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.186.12.11 (talk) 09:10, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

A well-known British example is the law that forbids people from dying in the Houses of Parliament. DAVID ŠENEK 09:55, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

You may wish to check http://www.dumblaws.com/; however please note that the whole field of obscure and ridiculous law is replete with poorly researched and arguable claims. For example, the 'law that forbids people to die in the Houses of Parliament' is not a law (either statute or common law), but a legal fiction which exists in English common law: no non-Royal may have their death recorded within a Royal Palace. In the event that someone does actually expire within the precincts of a Royal Palace, their death certificate will state that they were discovered dead on arrival at hospital. The Snopes site has a better-researched Legal affairs section. Sam Blacketer (talk) 10:02, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's not at all ridiculous to forbid tying alligators to fire hydrants. I'd certainly want anyone who was going around doing that to be locked up. It would be ridiculous to specifically forbid it, but often these items only say that it's illegal (as in your example). -- BenRG (talk) 11:46, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

To clarify with an example, suppose the law said, "No person may tie an animal to a fire hydrant." That's a reasonable law that would draw little notice. It follows from this law that you can't tie an alligator to a hydrant, so the book authors write, "It's illegal in Foobar, Iowa, to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant." True, but misleading, and written to make the law sound ridiculous. (You could do the same thing if the law said, "No person may possess a dangerous animal within the city limits.") -- Coneslayer (talk) 12:05, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

I know that many of the "ridiculous laws" are just urban legends. Could you point me to a list of verified examples? How would I check whether a ridiculous law (for example, dumblaws.com says that it is illegal to climb trees in Canada) is actually true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.186.12.11 (talk) 11:04, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Most dumb laws you'll find are not actually the laws but interpretations of them. For example, the law where I live states that you cannot drive faster than 55mph over our new bridge. I can interpret that as "We have a dumb law that states you can't drive a golf cart faster than 55mph over our new bridge while wearing a pink tutu." That, basically, is the basis of the laws. In your example, the law may state: "No animals may be tied or leashed to a fire hydrant." So, someone said "Here's a dumb law: No alligators can be tied to fire hydrants." -- kainaw™ 12:08, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Some dumb laws are also old laws that no one ever bothered to take off the books. Example: In Omaha every house must have a hitching post out front. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 16:55, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, you have to tie your alligator to something. -- Coneslayer (talk) 17:05, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Try this book Ludicrous Laws and Mindless Misdemeanors by Lance S. Davidson. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 17:01, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Also some supposed dumb laws don't seem all that dumb. This article from July 1st 2009 (sic) "It is illegal to park a car on railroad tracks" (I should sure hope so) and a bunch of others seem resonable [9]

I can remember many years ago, when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in football, the Alabama legislature passed a law making it illegal for Notre Dame to score against the Alabama team. Corvus cornix_talk 21:46, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Iran's religions vs. ethnic groups

I remember there was a map of Iran where there was crescents representing Islam, the dark green ones were Shi'a and the white crescents were Sunni. There would colours indicating ethnic groups and languages they spoke. Where is the map? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.128.229 (talk) 14:21, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Is it the one at the top of Religion in Iran? Fribbler (talk) 14:26, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

removal of all edits and external links

Hello, I edited an article today and added external links, but a little later all was removed. Some earlier edits are still there, but very few of them. I would like to know why clarifying edits and external links are removed, and why soo fast. Especially because the edits were clarifying and the links external. And of course because the article should have as many contributors and data as possible without exceding a reasonable length. 192.38.110.236 (talk) 21:15, 25 July 2008 (UTC) Taodeptus

Which article was it, 192.38.110.236? Nothing's showing up in your contributions history, but maybe you were at another computer? In general terms, you might get more respect for your editorial edits if you were to create an account. Without seeing the links you added, we can't say what it was about them which led to their being taken out. Xn4 (talk) 21:49, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

And adding an edit summary is also important. Many people might assume that an edit with no summary by an anon I/P is vandalism and remove it. Also, I've noticed the database has been locking up a lot today. If that happens when you edit, you should get an error message, but maybe you missed it. Can you tell us which article you edited so we can investigate further ? StuRat (talk) 21:58, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

If the links looked like they might be advertising, they might have been removed for that. Or maybe someone just didn't think the links added much to the article, it's difficult to say without seeing them. --Tango (talk) 21:59, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Look at who is doing the editing and ask them on their talk page for their reasons. Also some link edits are done by bots (which has happened to another person on a article I'm working on). Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 01:16, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

July 26

Strange literary quirk of Poe (and others?)

I've noticed that in several works, specifically by Poe though others may have done similar, he uses incomplete names and even years. An example is The Purloined Letter [10] which took place in "the year 18__" and involves a "Monsieur G-" and a "Minister D-". I had originally thought that maybe the translation from handwritten to typewritten could not decipher some of Poe's handwriting, but having seen some original manuscripts, they are in fact written out like that. I've even seen (somewhere, can't recall offhand), that some story's events took place "in the year ____". Anyone have a backstory to this sort of thing? Thanks! Arakunem^Talk

Poe was a remarkable character writer. This quirk is actually part of the character style he is using. Imagine the letter as a "true" story being written by someone who wants to stay ambigious (and thus give a sense of anytime and person). Poe ranks up there with Stoker in being able to manipulate character writing. Omahapubliclibrary (talk) 01:13, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Someone will come along with specific examples, I am sure. The tecnique, when used in fiction, is to give the impression that real (and possibly important) people are involved, and a real events. The dates and names are just hinted at so that there is no way to confirm (or deny). When used in non-fiction, it is still a tecnique for hinting at names and dates, while avoiding possible libel. See Roman à clef for a similar tactic. ៛ Bielle (talk) 01:22, 26 July 2008 (UTC) Yikes, I shouldn't have sent you to Roman à clef without checking it out first. That's not a very good article, and not a very good explanation, though there are a lot of examples shown. ៛ Bielle (talk) 01:25, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

This is used all the time in 19th-century writing, even into early 20th century. Arthur Conan Doyle does it in the Holmes stories too at times, as do many Russian authors of the same period (I want to say I read a short story by Lermontov that did something like this). It's to make it look "authentic"—like it's a true story that they can't actually give you the details to. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:29, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Who's responsible?

This is a hypothetical case and is therefore not, I repeat NOT, a request for legal advice. Suppose you see a driver about to strike a pedestrian. You heroically push the would-be victim to safety, but in the process break your [supply body part here]. Assume this happens in North America. Is the driver liable for your medical bills? Does it make a difference if the injury was due to the car hitting you or you hitting the ground? Clarityfiend (talk) 01:50, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

The laws vary from province to province in Canada, and I suspect, from state to state in the U.S. That's only one of the reasons the Ref Desk doesn't do legal advice. Even from an expert, the answer is frequently: it depends. And that applies to hypothetical scenarios, too. In general terms, and this is not legal advice, deliberately putting yourself in the way of harm, however high-minded your motives, is not likely to result in someone else being held responsible for the consequences, financial or otherwise. Perhaps the person whose life you have saved may feel a moral responsibility, but I wouldn't count on much more than effusive thanks. ៛ Bielle (talk) 02:18, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

The area of law you are talking about is known as causation. Interpretation will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, scenario to scenario. The Wikipedia article is pretty good at going over some of the different schools of thought about it. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 03:17, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Religion

The lives of saints who were being persecuted because of the faith203.177.57.170 (talk) 03:21, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Isn't that just about all of them ? Do all you want a list of them all ? StuRat (talk) 04:08, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Start with martyr.--Wetman (talk) 05:00, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Importance of a person

Has anything well-known or well-reviewed been written about what can make a person important in the long term, and about whether one can have a meaningful life without being important? Secular, deistic or agnostic material would be preferred over anything that presumes -- or attempts to impose -- a religion. NeonMerlin 04:30, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Wouldn't all of this hinge on what we define as "important"? There are lots of figures who some people consider important and some people do not. There are many people who become considered important by people long after their deaths. Many people considered generally important fifty years ago are practically unknown today. Major Bong was considered important enough in 1945 for his obituary to share space with the bombing of Hiroshima; who cares about him today? I have no idea whether there is much secondary literature but it seems on the face of it like a question about how we define importance—something which is clearly contextual, and shifts drastically in a short amount of time—not about how people can become it. I can distinctly remember how I tried to convince people that the Taliban were important in 1999 or so, and practically nobody could see that they were. After 9/11, though, there was no question—though of course not for the same reasons I argued for. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 05:39, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Quotation from literature comparing Marian shrines/aspects

I'm trying to recall where I read of characters comparing their "favorite" Virgin Mary, I think as a humorous response to the diverse characterizations of the figure in various Marian cults before the Reformation. I believe one character says something to the effect of, Our Lady of [?] is well-known, but the Mary of [?] is the kindest. Or something to that effect. Can anyone help me? Cannongrandee (talk) 05:13, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Gegel - Philosophy and History

When reading articles on Rudolf Steiner and on Anthroposophy and Theosophy I keep coming up with Gegel, surname only. A Google search and a Wikipedia search come up with nothing on this individual. Please tell me who he was. There is no Wikipedia article on himDr Ron Howe (talk) 05:47, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Are you sure it's not Hegel? ---Sluzzelin talk 05:57, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

Copyright Violation

Is reproducing a Wikipedia Page on knol.google.com a copyright violation? I ask because I recently came across this. Thanks --MagneticFlux (talk) 07:16, 26 July 2008 (UTC)