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January 26

Adele

Does anyone know if the guy who plays piano for her when she performs live (the black dude with glasses, as seen here) is the same guy who plays on her albums? Thanks in advance. 24.189.87.160 (talk) 03:45, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Checking the credits for 19 (Adele album) shows Neil Cowley credited as piano - and he's white. I would guess that the backing band for the Letterman performance were session players. It's very common to save costs for this kind of performance to fly just the solo star in and hire a backing band locally rather than flying their entire backing band in for a single song peformance. Exxolon (talk) 20:09, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Were these people smokers?

Were Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, and Robert Stack smokers? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.234.170.202 (talk) 05:32, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

I've seen all three smoke in movie roles. I have no idea if that means they smoked outside of that context. --Jayron32 06:07, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Juan Garcia Esquivel - RCA Victor Records

How can I find where to locate an record album entitled "Other Worlds, Other Sounds by Juan Garcia Esquivel recorded on the RCA Victor label. Please let me know how to locate this album. Thank you, Fred Virga<email redacted> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.58.118.107 (talk) 21:52, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

There's a bunch of copies for sale on ebay, I can't paste the link unfortunately but just go to ebay and search from there. --Viennese Waltz 09:17, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Also available here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:57, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

January 27

Do video games throw games?

This isn't just a Wii Sports question, but I'll use it as an example. I go through periods when I don't play it, but it seems that no matter what my level is when I last leave it off, I always win a few games when I return to the habit before losing a great many more. I don't see how that's possible. I expect that rustiness would make defeat more likely at the beginning, but it doesn't happen that way. 66.108.223.179 (talk) 00:58, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Ken Uston once wrote that gamers will go through streaks ... have a few good games, then a few really bad ones, then some of their best ever. Now he was talking in regards to games like Pac-Man and Asteroids, not today's very complex games, running on even more complex computing hardware. Some social games on Facebook will occasionally give you bonus items if you haven't played in a long time, as an effort to get you back into the game. There's also the "freshness" factor; sometimes it helps to step away from a game for a short time, then when you come back, you may be trying something new you hadn't thought of (or maybe you played another, similar game and take what you learned back to the old one). --McDoobAU93 01:04, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Video game AI is a complex thing, but basically they all throw games. Take say Madden NFL, or other sports games, the game has to essentially cheat itself. In theory, there is no reason for the computer to throw an incomplete pass, it has perfect knowledge of what is happening, and its reaction time is as fast as the game runs. The AI in the game is essentially designed to mimic a human opponent, to deliberately make mistakes and react slowly, as a human would. You aren't really playing against a computer, you are playing against a computer programmed to take it easy on you. Some games do this better than others; the "suspension of disbelief" required to make the game playable and fun requires the programers to make the game appear competitive. For example, lets say in the computer opponent got a first down on every play whenever you were ahead in the game, even by one point, but went 3-and-out every time you were behind in the game, even by one point. It would become plainly obvious the computer is cheating just to keep it competitive. The game wouldn't be fun. The trick is to make the behave like a human player, make similar decisions humans would make, commit the same mistakes a human would, etc. Racing games (especially those made for young kids) are notoriously obvious in the way they make the computer race. Again, there's no reason why you should ever win a racing game; the computer knows exactly how to drive the perfect line, when to turn and accelerate and whatever, and so should win every time. So what they do is adjust their ability to yours. If you suck at Mario Kart, all the computer players crash all the time for no reason. If you are way in first, oddly the second place racer is right behind you, no matter how perfectly you race. That same computer racer that crashed every time you did when you sucked is now right on your tail when you race well. Just remember, the AI always cheats to let you win. The question is how convincingly it cheats... --Jayron32 02:33, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Excellent post, but on the other hand I would like to add some video games take the opposite approach, RTS games in particular are notorious for AIs that "cheat" on harder difficulties, including knowing where your units are, how your base is layed out or where your base is when a legitimate opponent would have no way of knowing where you are. If you ever see a massive attack headed your way without ever seeing a scout in an RTS, the AI is cheating to raise the difficulty by cheating to compensate for the inability to overcome certain AI limitations (like the inability to engage in unpredictable trickery or exploit bugs in the game) 65.29.47.55 (talk) 08:59, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I would add that when you first start playing, you're likely in a good frame of mind and play well. Once you lose once or twice, you may get frustrated and start trying high-risk plays to get back to winning, and end up sinking your chances further. That's a big reason for coaches calling timeouts in sports... if your team's getting pounded, take a break, settle down a bit, don't panic, get back to playing calmly. 142.179.81.220 (talk) 10:21, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I'd mention that while AI balancing is no doubt relevant, it doesn't directly answer the issue the OP raised, which is that of games being thrown on your first few games after a long break, not the way they cheat overall for balancing. It's something I've wondered often. In a similar vein, the first time I unlock a shotgun I'll get a million kills with it and it'll be the most amazing weapon ever, and then after that it'll seem a bit average and not so amazing. 90.193.232.5 (talk) 10:37, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

What you and the OP are alluding to is a reactive AI; that is one that adjusts its cheating on the fly to respond to in-game situations; this is classicly refered to an AI that "learns". In Madden NFL, for example, the AI will start off picking defenses roughly at random against you, however it also penalizes "predictable" play by becomeing really good against the plays you pick a lot. It does this two ways. First of all, the game appears learn a little bit; it looks like it tracks what plays you pick, and starts to pick defensive plays which are good choices against that. But it doesn't even have to do that. It could have the same effect if it just reduced its own handicap in response to predictable gameplay. For example, the fourth time you run the same play, the computer just plays better than the third time you picked it, and so on. It doesn't have to learn anything beyond amping up the difficulty every time you make the same choice. FPS games can do the same thing; as you note they are perfectly capable of beating you from the first second the game starts. So the first time you try a new weapon, it looks awesome because the AI intentionally sucks. If you keep using the same weapon for too long (regardless of what that weapon is), the AI just turns off its "autosuck" feature and starts to kick your ass. It doesn't actually "learn" how to deal with the shotgun better, its just programmed to become harder the longer you use the same weapon. --Jayron32 13:33, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I think this is probably just a result of you learning. Learning involves experimenting, experimenting is risky. On returning to the game you initially resume your old, successful techniques. Once you lose interest in that, you try out slightly different new ones, which fail. 81.131.49.248 (talk) 20:41, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Some games absolutely throw the game. Racing games are notorious for this. (Many of them try to keep you "in the pack" regardless of how fast you're going.)

Other forms of games do this too. It's properly known as Dynamic game difficulty balancing, but often known by the derogatory term Rubber Band AI for the way opponent race cars seem like they're tethered to you. APL (talk) 20:17, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Limit on number of episodes in Japanese TV series

I just saw someone comment on a particular YouTube clip that "Japanese broadcasting rules require you to end your series at episode 999..." Is that true? 98.116.65.131 (talk) 03:17, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Seems rather dubious. What possible reason could there be? I don't know about Japan, but according to this American(?) list, WWE Raw has the most episodes at 679. If you assume 26 episodes a year (per a recent question), you're looking at over 38 years worth. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:36, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

WWE Raw is pretty impressive at 679 episodes, but it isn't even close to SportsCenter, which has aired well over 35,000 unique episodes... --Jayron32 03:43, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I don't know that you could call a sports broadcast an "episode". Clarityfiend (talk) 05:08, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Wait a second. Where's Guiding Light on that list? IMDb shows 1689 episodes. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:17, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Sesame Street is usually near the top of these sorts of lists with 4,256 episodes, but this have very little to do with the question asked. APL (talk) 20:23, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

List of longest running TV shows by category says Sazae-san has more than 6000 episodes. --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:52, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Beautiful Life ended on the 11th Episode and Sazae-san has been going weekly (every Sunday) since 1957. I would relegate this 'rumour' to 'stuff that people have no clue about post on the internet'. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 18:26, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Maybe it meant that the last episode of any series will be identified as 999 no matter number it really is (like many American shows which start their numbering at 100). But yeah, it's more likely that this is a "those crazy Japanese! They so crazy!" sort of thing. Adam Bishop (talk) 20:30, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

UK TV Advert for Capital FM features various artists praising it, Who is

The advert seems to contain two female artists by themselves. One blowing a kiss to the camera and one who is just dancing . Who are these two ladies please, and please state which one is which. One has medium length hair and one has longer hair and as I said both are on their own and not in a group of people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.42.71.205 (talk) 12:01, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Before anyone else asks, the advert can be found here. Going by the tags on the video, the ladies you are looking for are Rihanna and Nicole Scherzinger. Rihanna is the red-haired one. --Viennese Waltz 12:36, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

January 28

Kids tv show/movie, possibly British, 80s

I'm trying to remember the title of what I think is a movie that I saw when I was a kid, so it has to be in the 80s. It was on BBC1, during Children's BBC, and if my memory serves me correctly, a Friday afternoon. For a period, CBBC aired these 60- or 90-minute one-off features, possibly some sort of after-school special (hope that article exists!).

Anyway, it was about a boy who liked to run, and he ended up with this white t-shirt with the face of a leopard or tiger or something printed on it. And every time he wore it and started running, the tiger face would glow orange and he'd run faster. What is it?!?!?!?! It's been driving me crazy! Thanks Matthewedwards :  Chat  01:59, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Doesn't ring any bells but was well after my time. If nobody else knows you could try this. Alansplodge (talk) 02:19, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Sammy's Super T-Shirt? ---Sluzzelin talk 02:27, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Wow, you're good, I think that's it! Thank you, guys Matthewedwards :  Chat  03:29, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

How well does it Rank ?

Over the years, watching television, I have noticed that in both NYC and LA the police have a rank of Inspector. Now according to Wikipedia, in New York this is supposed to be two ranks above that of Captain, which seems to agree with what I have seen in police shows set there. But in Los Angeles, Inspector is said to be one rank above that of Captain, yet in Sledge Hammer, Inspector Sledge Hammer answers to Captain Trunk, so how can this be ?Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 04:31, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

See fiction. Come back if you have more questions. --Jayron32 04:37, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

So the idea is, whether the ranks work out in real life, if the producers of Sledge Hammer want him to be an inspector ranked below a captain, that's their business. As for me, I would prefer to be as true to reality if I were using realistic concepts such as Police rank or history and true stories, but for this, I get it. Fair enough. I guess if one really wants to be picky ( which sometimes I do ), they can look up the real ranks and make sure they work out. I suspect for a procedural police drama like CSI: New York, they do make it as realistic as possible - but even in there, I realise they have more shootouts than the average real NYC cop would in their lifetime. In any case, I love Sledge Hammer, so even if the ranks may not seem right, it makes no difference to how great it is. I did notice that according to this, Captain Trunk does not appear to have a first name - unless it was revealed in the episode where people were trying to kill him and he wanted to get back with his wife. Thanks for that. Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 05:12, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Actually, the CSI franchise is equally as bad when it comes to police procedures. Having a close relative actually work in the forensic science field, the actual police work that goes on on CSI is to police work what Star Wars is to modern Physics. It is complete crap. They use scientific sounding terms in completely fictional ways; so please don't think they actually get anything "right" when it comes to how police should do their job. --Jayron32 15:41, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Which brings up my own pet peeve with those shows: that they have the CSI's doing the police officer's job, instead of or as often as they do any CSI work. Rmhermen (talk) 15:59, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Because what actually happens is that everyone's job is highly specialized. You have "evidence technicians" who collect evidence. That is all they do. They don't talk to suspects, they don't do any investigation, they don't analyze the evidence at all. They are trained in how to collect and preserve evidence so someone else can look at it. You have detectives, whose job it is to talk to people and keep all of the paperwork together. They don't work in a lab, they don't touch any evidence, they don't handle anything. They talk to people. You have the actual forensic analysts who work in a lab and analyze what you bring in. They don't leave the lab, they don't collect evidence, they don't talk to suspects. They sit in a room and look at a microscope and write reports. All day. And the forensic field itself is highly specialized. If you're a DNA analysts, that's all you do all day. You just do DNA fingerprinting and comparisons. You don't look at ballistics, you don't do fingerprints, you don't look at fibers. You do DNA. Someone else does the ballistics, and that's all they do, all day. Someone else does fiber matches. Etc. Etc. There is no such thing as a "Crime scene investigator" as a single job. It just doesn't exist. --Jayron32 16:23, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Notice in the list at Police_rank#United States, we see Inspector/commander/colonel as a rank above Major and Detective/Inspector/Investigator as a much lower rank just above Officer/Deputy/Patrolman. When you have 14,169 separate agencies employing 708,569 officers, you will have some variations in system. Some places have Patrol/Detectives/specialty jobs entirely separate from rank. My father held a rank of Patrolman but a job title of Investigator. Remember Detectives Riggs and Murtaugh are Captains (briefly) by the last film. Rmhermen (talk) 16:17, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Thank You all again. I guess it boils down to degress of accuracy, with some shows to a given extent more realistic than others, and the lie is to do with making it watchable and comprehendible.

I understand that in real life, as opposed to the universe inhabited by CBS, DNA tests take a matter of weeks, not hours as they show on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. If only they really were that quick ! I would have thought, given the greater transperancy and cynicism of all things these days, film makers would be more careful in wanting to portray a realistic world - if not in how fast a crime is solved, and the amount of action involved, at least in the procedural part, as to who does what and where the ranks of individuals really are.

I went to school with someone who is now a police inspector, but he has been in the force since 1987, so any show I see where a detective has a high rank after only a short time, I realise is ludicrous. It would actually be refreshing to see a cop show with a lot more realism, and sure, add a bit of action by all means, but don't overdo it. Somtimes it is fine once in a while to see a cop who doesn't blow away half a dozen scumbags each week.

I recall the scene out of the incredibly accurate Zodiac, a film I finally saw late last year on TV after waiting some time for it, where Mark Ruffalo's character Inspector David Toschi goes to see Dirty Harry at the pictures in the early seventies at the time he is trying to hunt down a vicious killer. I think it is the scene where Andy Robinson's Charles Davis, the 'Scorpio Killer', is shot in the leg by Clint Eastwood's Harry, and Toschi says something like " So much for Police procedure."

I often wonder how real cops view cop shows, and I can imagine some of them watching and pointing out all the mistakes. What amazes me about Dirty Harry is how dense in some ways Harry Callahan is in terms of due process, when his illegal actions get the evidence thrown out. Sure that kind of " fruit of the poison tree " stuff sucks, but one would think in real life a cop would know better, especially one as experienced. In the end though, Dirty Harry is s great film, for the action and entertainment value, and as I noted, it is all just escapism.

Indeed we do need the odd cop show that doesn't take too many liberties, then we can have others that are outright invention. I guess the idea behind CSI and such is to introduce all of us to the idea that solving crime is not just done by cops, but many others - each doing their part - and that real forensics does have some valid principles in it. Although I did see a documentary once which showed how one forensic principle used for years has now been discredited, since it lead to a man being wrongfully executed, and that was to do with how windows fracture in a fire. Originally they thought that if the window did so in a kind of spiderweb pattern, that accelerants had been used, but these days it is known that is not the case.

Now, does anyone know whether CSI's really do carry guns and use them ? I recall reading Oscar Fraley's The Untouchables, and Eliot Ness mentions going into the forensic lab and meeting up with a scientist he knew, who was armed, even though he was simply a technician, and not a Treasury agent. But it has been noted that Fraley himself may have embellished Ness' story.

Going back to cops touching evidence. It annoys me to see someone on these shows - even if a forensics person - pick something up without photographing it first. I cannot imagine anyone doing that for real. And yes, I have noticed that on CSI, which I do like though, the CSI's do seem to be doing cop's jobs, and I am sure the jobs are seperate. I would say it would be best for forensics people to have next to nothing to do with the public so as to be neutral and beyond accusation of consorting with anyone. Only the coroner is likely to speak to the public. I also notice that in some of these shows the cops do dumb things that would get anyone else put in prison, or get away with stuff ups that should at least have them sacked.

On Sunday night here in NZ I shall be watching a movie about a true crime investigation of a South African doctor who allegedly killed his wife and was caught out by New Zealand Police - I remember seeing it on the news at the time over ten years ago. I shall note how realistic that is.

I understand that every film has to take liberties - especially with dialogue, since even if one was there, how could they know exactly what they said verbatim during a conversation many years ago if they did not tape it ? And then there are the composite characters and merging of events and change of order of events for dramatic purposes. Sometimes though, it would be good to see a movie that even if it is not true, could really be. The rest is fiction. Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 10:38, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Australia advert on British television

There's an advert for Australia on British TV at the moment (they want you to visit, not buy it, and anyway it'd cost a fortune in excess baggage) in which a song is sung. It goes something like "Australia, Australia, there's nothing like Australia". The tune sounds rather familiar - anyone know what it is? Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 04:54, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

I knew about this new campaign to attract more of you over here, but hadn't bothered to watch the ad. So I looked it up, and found that anyone can watch it here. The tune sounds like one of those ubiquitous, non-copyrighted things that's used in review shows and the like all the time. I could name a couple of local uses of it that wouldn't mean a thing to you, so I won't bother. But others may know it as a more definite tune. (As for the imagery, please don't try to cuddle a platypus. They have spurs on their hind legs which can inject a very nasty venom. You won't die, but it can hurt like hell.) HiLo48 (talk) 05:13, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

When your edit summary came up on my watchlist, I thought "Fabulous! There's a song called Please don't cuddle a platypus". Imagine my disappointment to find you were only offering animal-handling tips. DuncanHill (talk) 05:22, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

If you really want, I can work on something. I'm thinking of using Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil as a style to plagiarise. OK? HiLo48 (talk) 06:15, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Sounds good to me - and if you can get the Greatest Living Australian to record it, even better! DuncanHill (talk) 05:07, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Listening to it again, it strikes me as rather Eric Idle-ish. Any Python fans recognise the tune? DuncanHill (talk) 05:35, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

It does have that Idlean Music Hall flavour, but apparently it was composed by Josh Abrahams (see Tourism Australia's website]) ---Sluzzelin talk 11:30, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. DuncanHill (talk) 05:02, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

January 29

Book

When I was in the 3rd grade (1993ish) we read this book about a kid who licked his elbow and turned into a girl, figuratively — that is, he was finding himself dotting his I's with hearts. This book was probably a product of the 1980s or 1990s. Anyone know what it was? I can't remember the author or anything else. Ten Pound Hammer, his otters and a clue-bat • ^{(Otters want attention)} 01:45, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

I think it's Is He a Girl? (1993) from the Marvin Redpost series by Louis Sachar. ---Sluzzelin talk 03:38, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that's it! Ten Pound Hammer, his otters and a clue-bat • ^{(Otters want attention)} 04:53, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

NCIS headwear

I noticed the headwear worn by the NCIS team members on NCIS. Gibbs, DiNozzo, Ziva, McGee and Palmer wear sport caps. Ducky wears what looks like a fishmerman's bucket hat. If that's the case, is the hat khaki, gray or navy blue? Any special markings on it, as well?24.193.90.61 (talk) 07:58, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Going to Google's image search tool (images.google.com) and searching for "NCIS Ducky" gives a number of photos of the character. The hat is khaki, with no writing or marks on it that I can see. It appears to be a personal hat, rather than an employer-issued one, like the NCIS-logoed baseball cap that the other characters wear. -- 174.21.236.191 (talk) 19:29, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

The second longest-running theatrical release in film history ...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

Which movie has the second longest-running theatrical release? -- Toytoy (talk) 18:01, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

Maybe Romance on Lushan Mountain, out since 1980, which Guinness claims is the longest (according to the article). Oops, longest run at one cinema.Clarityfiend (talk) 22:32, 29 January 2011 (UTC)

We had a very similar question a few months ago (should be somewhere in the archives). At the time I mentioned Sholay and DDLJ as two extremely long-running Bollywood movies that turned out to be pretty good candidates. Have you tried searching Google? This sounds like one of those cases where the big G should easily be able to find an answer. Zunaid 07:53, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

January 30

Hat Tricks In Cricket

My husband bowled his hat trick in the first 3 balls of the games and I was wondering if this has ever been done before. I know of the hat trick that the guy got his hat trick on the first 3 balls he bowled but was it the first 3 ball of the game? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.218.200.168 (talk) 08:10, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Congratulations! That's an almost unbelieveable achievement, but it's not completely unprecedented. Chaminda Vaas, playing for Sri Lanka, bowled a hat-trick with the first three balls of a World Cup match against Bangladesh in February 2003. This website calls Vaas' hat-trick unique, so perhaps we can pencil your husband in as the second cricketer to manage it. --Antiquary (talk) 12:53, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Hi Can you please tell me how I can add this to this web site? It would be great to have this on here if he is the second ever person to do this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.218.200.168 (talk) 06:40, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Value of a Promotion of a 45 record

What is the value of a "Promotion" copy of a 45 record of Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim "Change Partners"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.6.45.56 (talk) 23:05, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

The value of any record (or other collectible) depends heavily on the physical condition of the record and also of any associated items like the sleeve (whose complete absence may considerably reduce the value overall). Only you know these factors, and you need to be able to assess them according to the generally accepted standards of record collectors to find out how they will affect any notional value.

Rather than work through dialogue with us, you would be better advised to consult directly a specialist record collecting site, publication or dealership which will provide advice on assessing condition as well as - possibly - estimated values of the item(s) in question.

There are a number of such venues which could be found by googling: one such is the UK magazine Record Collector, which maintains (linked from the bottom of the article I just provided a link to) an online Rare Record Price Guide: this would be a good place to start. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:55, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree with the last comments. You need to bear in mind that mint copies of any record - the "values" often quoted - are typically up to 10 times higher than for records in merely "good" or "fair" condition. Promo records do not necessarily have any greater value than commercially issued versions, unless they were never issued commercially. The country of issue is also important - a picture sleeve version of a record issued in a small(er) country far away may well be of interest to collectors in, say, the UK or US. You may be interested in the article on Record collecting. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:06, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

January 31

Expensive London our search continues...

This is in continuation with a question I had asked on Jan 24th. We are planning to visit London for 2012 Olympics. Having visited London once earlier last year we fell in love with the place. The city has history and charm, loads of it. While hosting the Olympics is always good for a city from the infrastructure point of view, do Londoners have to milk the world and fleece them to host the Olympics. We are in the process of hunting out a decent place to stay. The following write up shows how some hotels are demanding a ransom...

Just to update you all about our attempts to secure a booking with a london hotel....I have heard from more London hotels and every day gives me more shocking and preposterous quotes. We wanted to check with the best hotels ( 5 Star), the not so expensive hotels( 4 and 3 star), the budget hotels and last but not the least the travelodges as well. While Im personally disturbed by what I read on trip advisor about travelodges, I think given the exorbitant rates these hotels are quoting, we would have no other options but to go in for travelodges. To start with I enquired with one of the best hotels - Taj London - aka 51, Buckingham Gate. On their website, it says 350 pounds per night for a junior suite it sounded ok to us and we decided to ( half heartedly) raise our budget for London Olympics ( from 10,000 pounds to 15,000) and I sent them an email for a quote. We requested to stay for 18 nights from 27th July till 13th August 2012. They came back with a quote of 17,100 pounds !!!!! for 18 nights without VAT and without breakfast... WTF??? Are London hotels killing the proverbial golden goose? Who would in their right mind stay in a hotel and pay 17,100 pounds and pay extra for taxes and breakfast and lunch and dinner??? Coming to the 3 star range, I tried the Strand Palace at the Strand, they have come out with a quote of 6300 pounds sounds steep again but manageble - this includes all taxes and breakfast. We might finally go in for this. The travelodges I havent contacted them yet. Pretty distrubed after reading the reviews on tripadvisor. At times we feel tempted to ditch the whole plan and spend the money else where and stay in a 7 star luxury hotel and watch the Olympics on TV... we might actually end up staying in much more luxurious place and spend less, but yet again the lure of London and the Olympics are tempting us, feeling very angry and let down. Does anyone know any good place to stay? More expensive than Travelodges less expensive than the Strand. Around 250 pounds per night for a couple. A clean and hygienic safe place would do. Dont they have the culture of home stays, where people can pay say 3500 pounds and stay with a family for the 18 days?? Why is London soooo expensive?Is there no rational solution to this? --213.130.123.12 (talk) 04:24, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

London is so expensive because there is a heavy demand for accommodation there at any time, and it will be hugely greater for the period of the Olympics - hotel prices are market driven, and I have no doubt that professional hoteliers (who do not represent 'Londoners' as a whole) know pretty well how to pitch their prices. While I am not a transatlantic authority, I believe that in general both hotel prices and food are markedly more expensive in the UK than in the USA at the best of times.

The demand factor will apply equally to non-professional arrangements like private lets and home stays (which are not unknown but which are unusual in the UK): it was much the same when I lived in St Andrews, Scotland and the Open Golf Championship visited - residents used to make a tidy profit by letting their house for a week and moving to cheaper hotel accommodation elsewhere. I myself have never been able to afford hotel accommodation in London; when attending events such as conventions and forced to stay in the vicinity (rather than return 50-70 miles home nightly) I have always crashed in a sleeping bag on friends' floors, but that is obviously not the sort of experience you are looking for!

You might instead consider staying somewhere well outside London, which would be somewhat cheaper, and commute in by British Rail and/or London Underground (balancing the lesser hotel bills against the cost of train tickets) - it only takes about an hour to get to Central London from about 50 miles out (I used to travel daily from Winchester to work in Piccadilly). Remember also that some events will be taking place well outside London (for example, the sailing) so your particular interests might influence the convenience of location.

You might also consider amending the flavour of your visit, and instead of luxurious hotel facilities, opt for much cheaper 'Bed and Breakfast' accommodation which is traditional and widespread in the UK. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a good time. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 07:07, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

I've heard that lots of hotels have long since had large numbers of block bookings by corporates and international federations for 2012, meaning they can charge a king's ransom for the few rooms they have left. I second 87's suggestion of Bed and Breakfast (commonly known as "B&B"). Do a bit of research and you'll have a far more memorable stay than if you stayed in a top class hotel. One last thing - we may have a different hotel star rating system from wherever it is you live. I've never heard of a hotel having more than five stars (but I could be wrong - I'm more of a B&B-er than a 5 star man!) --Dweller (talk) 09:05, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

See Star (classification)#.27Six.27_and_.27seven_star.27_hotels for that. There should really be some kind of standard for those ratings though. I've been twice in NYC in 1 1/2 star hotels which were pretty okay but here in Europe I wouldn't recommend anything below 3 stars. So it's hard to compare such ratings anyway. Regards SoWhy 10:29, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

To aid your hotel search I would recommend you look at a few guidebooks pitched at the independent traveller. The Rough Guide is the best [1] but you could also look at the Time Out guide [2]; on no account use Lonely Planet. Both these books will contain lists of reasonably priced hotels which have been checked and come well recommended. Forget Tripadvisor, it is useless for recommendations because one person says one thing about a hotel and the next person says something completely different. If you get the Rough Guide you will also find it a hugely valuable guidebook when you do come to London. --Viennese Waltz 10:01, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

If you do decide to go B&B (which I would recommended too), this site explains the one of the most commonly used rating systems. Alansplodge (talk) 18:06, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Have you considered renting a quality apartment instead? London has many short-term holiday lets, some entirely self-catering and some serviced if you want a more hotel-style experience. We have rented such properties in both London and Edinburgh in the past, to give us more flexibility and space when travelling with children, and have stayed in some extremely luxurious and well-equipped places for considerably less than the cost of a luxury hotel. If you found somewhere central you would have a wide choice of bars and restaurants close at hand, with the option of cooking for yourselves if you felt like it, plus more space than is offered by a hotel bedroom. Sites like this one (there are others) allow you to deal direct with owners and check availability of properties online. I'm sure property owners, like hoteliers, are also looking for a premium during the Olympics, but if you're staying for a couple of weeks you may get a better rate, as short breaks are priced higher per day than long ones, to cover the increased turnround costs. Karenjc 20:17, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks everyone for your replies, I had posted this question on 24th and we got quite a few helpful replies and worked on those lines and yesterday we were at our wits end, my husband reposted this question and at the outset let me tell, we are both very thankful for all the replies we have received so far. Karenjc you had guided us once with the Afro Celt music and now again with the London Olypics accomodation, thanks a lot. Thanks too to all other individuals who have chipped in their valuable inputs. What we dont understand is, when the Olympic Organising Committee can sell tickets as early as March 2011 online, why cant they have a tie up with several London hotels say 2star, 3 sttar 4 star and 5 star and start giving confirmed room bookings online? When a tourist is ready to make a 100% payment upfront whats stopping them. By selling event tickets alone and leaving the overseas tourists in the lurch with absolutely no idea where they would stay, the Olympic organising committe is magic a big mistake. Leaving us at the mercy of the London Hotel industry is so unfair. It might be argued, no where in the world would an Olympic Organising Committte help in arrranging hotels, but not every city is London. London being one of the most expensive places in the world, even 350 pounds per night is not sufficient for a tiny rathole in central london during the games period. The visiting tourists would feel fleeced. Can everyone affford to spend 20,000 pounds only for rooms and another 6000 pounds for tickets and another 5000 pounds for food?? what about transport, shopping and unexpected expenses? Initially we set aside 10,000 pounds for the whole Olympics trip hoping to finish travel, accomodation, food and tickets within that budget for the two of us. Later reality dawned on us and we realised it would cover virtually nothing. So, in our desperation we upped our budget from 10,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds for those 20 days but this is the max we can shell out. If still we dont find a reasonable place, we might have to forget our plans and watch the event on TV but my husband insists we should go there and is dooing this basically as a gift for me. Its really sad to see him worry about this, he is dashing off mails after emails to most hotels and almost all of them have tripled their prices for the period between july 2012 and august 2012. We however saw some pretty impressive pictures about B&B at Belgravia, Marble Arch and in some other areas within zone 1. But sadly the owners of these properties say its too early to make any commitments for the Olympics. They wanna play the waiting game and go with the highest bidder, cant blame them. Make hay while the sun shines. But they should have some realistic time limits, we just cant wait indefinitely. The event tickets are expected to go on sale by mid march 2011 and according to the official websites are expected to be sold out by april 2011, so we truely are in a catch 22 situation. we are planning to pick up tickets for almost 5000 pounds and will have no commitments on the accomodation till September or October 2011. I sincerely hope things fall into place and common sense prevails and the tourists from other countries come and have a good stay and leave safe and happy. Thanks again for your patience and your help.--Fragrantforever 06:15, 1 February 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fragrantforever (talk • contribs)

Moi je joue

Resolved

Does anyone know when Brigitte Bardot's song Moi je joue was recorded and released? Thank you.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 10:33, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

According to Allmusic.com (usually, but not always, reliable) it was released in 1964 on the album B.B.. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:23, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Thank you, Ghmyrtle. I love that song, and at the moment it's featured in a perfume ad here on Italian TV. I had assumed it was released sometime in the 60s but didn't know the exact year.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 12:19, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

(I know it's been resolved, but just for completeness' sake): The single B.B. 64, featuring "Moi je joue" on the A side and "Ne me laisse pas l'aimer" on the B side, was released in 1964 as well. See encyclopedisque. ---Sluzzelin talk 19:27, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Who is this actor?

Hello, could anyone tell me who this actor is? I created that Photoshop a while ago, I'm just not sure who I used anymore.--213.196.210.36 (talk) 15:03, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Which part is photoshopped? If he was on Star Trek he shouldn't be too hard to find (although I don't recognize him). Adam Bishop (talk) 20:34, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

He doesn't look at all familiar to me either. Dismas|^(talk) 01:58, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

reminds me rather of Damian Lewis. DuncanHill (talk) 02:06, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

The image is entitled "travisbridge.png". I assume the "bridge" part refers to the spaceship bridge. Is the "travis" part referring to yourself, or could it be a reference to the person in the photo (in which it might help narrow things down)? (By the way, Tineye doesn't seem to recognize the picture, even if you crop everything but his face.) -- 140.142.20.229 (talk) 03:16, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

I photoshopped the actor's head into the Star Trek scenery, so ignore Star Trek. Also ignore Travis, it's the name of my RPG character. I vaguely recall that the actor's name contained either the first name Alan or the surname Allen.--87.78.55.186 (talk) 08:56, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Tupac resurrection

whats the song playing when theyre talking about Suge Knight in Tupac Resurrection? --81.23.48.100 (talk) 16:48, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

I haven't seen it, and couldn't view that part online. IMDb's soundtrack list features 16 songs. I'm assuming it's one of them, and if you happen to remember approximately where in the movie (beginning, middle, end) they talk about Suge Knight: The list follows the chronological sequence of tracks in the movie. So, if you listen to a couple of these songs, and it's still audible in your memory, you should be able to find the answer. We also have an article on Tupac: Resurrection (soundtrack) for the CD release, but that list isn't identical with what you hear in the film. ---Sluzzelin talk 21:48, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

February 1

How do they get away with it ?

Back on January the First, someone, as far as I know, unsigned, asked why there were so many rip off movies. I think their specific peeve was in the realm of out and out copies, especially those with product placement. In the spirit then of copying , this has prompted me to ask a similar question as to how pardodies like Meet the Spartans, are allowed, when they obviously take a copyrighted idea and make fun of it - not that I mind. So what is protected by law, and do those who make fun of other movies have to ask permission or pay something ?

Also, what about those that take a similar idea? It has long been noted, after all, that Under Siege was a kind of ripoff of Diehard, and it could also be said that Mindhunters is a copy of movies like Ten Little Indians, as is any other movie such as The Cave, Alien franchise, House of Wax etc., where people are knocked off one after the other, until the White Anglo Saxon hero and the most attractive girl are left.

I get the idea that having a film where people are killed off one by one is not necessarily a copy if the basic premise differs, but it seems that Hollywood and every one else is kind of sometimes making the same sort of movies over again.

Another example of this is ones like The Nurse (Lisa Zane), The Stepdaughter (Andrea Roth),The Stepfather(Terry O'Quinn), The Perfect Tenant with Maxwell Caulfield - as well as another he did called Facing the Enemy, The Perfect Nanny (Tracy Nelson - also in the Perfect Tenant ), The Temp (Lara Flynn Boyle), and The Perfect Wife ( Shannon Sturges - who was born one day after I was ), among many others - all good, though, but the same idea of someone who is not who they seem to be. Once in a while this is fine, but it would be good to see something completely new.

One other thing I have noticed is that there will be a movie on I know to have been either a true story or at least to have some true to life people in it, yet at the end some of them say the story and all characters are completely fictitious. Now I know sometimes they do acknowledge a true story as such, either based on or inspired by, with composite characters and other dramatic licences sat, passed, and even faked, but if a story has some truth in it, surely even that should be acknowledged. An example might be the incredibly entertaining film Dick ( Dan Hedaya ), showing portrayals of people like Woodward and Bernstein, John Dean III, Bob Haldeman, among many others. Now I cannot be sure if they said at the end of this none of it was real, but what if they did ? Could they claim to say so, since although such people exist, the portrayals of them in this film are not all true ? Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 07:37, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

It's often been said that there are only X number of plots in Hollywood. See this book for example which says that there are only 7. I'm sure if you look back far enough, you'll see that Diehard wasn't the first "one-forgotten-man-saves-the-whole-group" type of story. As for Meet the Spartans, see parody. Oh, and finally, if the filmmakers say that a story is based on someone's life or that the story was inspired by them or whatever, then they would owe those people a part of the profits since they are profiting off of their lives. If the filmmaker says that it's all made up, they don't have to pay them anything. Also, they will avoid defamation lawsuits if the subject of the film doesn't like how they are portrayed. Dismas|^(talk) 07:55, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Thank You. I think someone told me about that idea - might have been my brother in law. And as I noted - it certainly seems that way. My brother in law also mentions the idea of tropes, which I assume are repeatable things that occur in movies, such as, in a thriller, someone is looking for the creepy secret in a dark house ( with accompanying scary music, which sounds like it is coming to a climax ), and a cat jumps out and scares him - or the usual Freddy Kruger type has been killed, but jumps up for one last scare, as noted in the Scream franchise. I have also been led to understand that there is a difference between the terms " inspired by true events " and " based on a true story ", although, when one thinks about it, there is probably always some element of truth in any movie, no matter how false it is.Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 08:09, 1 February 2011 (UTC)