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December 18

Power of Love - Beverly

A version of the song Power of Love credited to "Beverly" charted in Australia alongside the more famous Celine Dion cover version. Who was Beverly? Hack (talk) 13:04, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

discogs describes an "Italian project of early 90s formed by Beverley Skeete (as vocalist)...". --Wrongfilter (talk) 13:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

(ec)Hard telling, but here's a youtube of it:[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:17, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

How does the Star Wars universe relates to our world?

Besides the opening lines ("A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...."), is there any reference in the Star Wars sage as to how they relate to our world? --Scicurious (talk) 16:55, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

No, the framing sentence is vague, and none of the works draw any explicit connection to our world. Information about the history and context of the phrase is given at Star Wars opening crawl. --Jayron32 16:57, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

See http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_references_to_Earth_in_Star_Wars -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 13:54, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

At the time of the first Star Wars film in 1977, reviewers noted that the opening phrase was a creative twist on the standard fairy tale intro "Once upon a time..." and that the bare bones of the story were drawn from earth-bound myths and legends such as King Arthur. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:56, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

E.T.-style aliens were depicted in the senate and they've obviously come to earth at some point in their own movie. 99.235.223.170 (talk) 15:35, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

That's one of Lucas' little inside jokes, such as putting R2-D2 and C-3PO into the hieroglyphs in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and putting some variant of "THX-1138" into various films. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:09, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

December 19

Why was only one copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin sold?

I have a question about the album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. I don't understand the whole idea behind this album. Why on earth would the group want to make (and sell) only one copy of the album? And a related question: why would a musical group want to work hard to create music and then not allow anyone (except for one individual) to listen to their music? I just don't get it. Also, is there literally only one copy out there? Or does the group itself have their own copy, in addition to the one sold? Thanks. 2602:252:D13:6D70:C5EB:D2C5:218D:1F48 (talk) 07:19, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Rarity makes something more valuable, but there's always the question about how many of an item to sell to maximize overall profit. With music, it seems clear that if you sell more than a few copies, then illegal copies will soon proliferate, so that's an additional incentive to make very few. They sold it for $2 million, which isn't too bad. Maybe they could have made more by selling it to the general public, but maybe it's just no good. And they might also have generated publicity and demand for their next publicly released album. StuRat (talk) 07:33, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes. So, if it's good music, it would earn more than $2 million when sold to millions of consumers. If it's lousy music, why would someone pay $2 million for it? Quite bizarre. 2602:252:D13:6D70:C5EB:D2C5:218D:1F48 (talk) 08:25, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Did the customer get to listen to it first ? Also, see Veblen good, where the mere fact that it is high priced makes it valuable to someone, for it's "snob appeal". It's interesting that it was purchased by Martin Shkreli, a man who publicly stated he is unconcerned about his public image and who was subsequently arrested for unethical business practices (basically a Ponzi scheme). I wonder if such people are more likely to want to waste money on something of questionable utility to fill some hole in their psyche. StuRat (talk) 15:30, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

But that explains things from the buyer's perspective. I am more concerned with the seller's ... ? And, no, the customer did not get to listen first. It was auctioned off to the highest bidder. Thanks. 2602:252:D13:6D70:5164:77F5:8AAD:A108 (talk) 19:35, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

If a seller can manage to create a Veblen good, that is very much in their interest. In this case, if the customer didn't get to listen to it first, I'm going with my gut that it just wasn't a very good album. So, their options were to release it to the public, have disappointing sales and no longer have any public interest when their next album comes out, or, do what they did, make 2 million dollars, and have the public very curious about their next offering. Of course, the buyer might tell everyone it wasn't any good, but psychology would make it unlikely that anyone would want to admit they wasted 2 million dollars on junk. StuRat (talk) 04:03, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Bidders in the auction got to hear samples of the album. —Tamfang (talk) 08:24, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't know that. Where did you see that info? Thanks. 2602:252:D13:6D70:9153:6944:89B5:F0A2 (talk) 17:34, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Great article by Bloomberg about the sale here... Says there was a listening party for potential buyers and radio contest winners in New York in March where they played 13 minutes of highlights from the album. Then "serious bidders got to hear the 13-minute highlights in private listening sessions arranged by Paddle8 in New York.... Before he closed on the acquisition, Shkreli was permitted to listen to a few more snippets to make sure it was all there. Shkreli delegated the task to an employee." Another funny bit: "[Shkreli] hasn’t listened to Once Upon a Time in Shaolin yet. He’s saving that for a time when he’s feeling low and needs something to lift his spirits." AtticusX (talk) 06:03, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Maybe he knew he would be headed to prison soon, and bought it to listen to there. (I wonder how many packs of cigarettes he can trade it for.) StuRat (talk) 21:13, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

In that case, I suspect that the provided samples were the only good parts, much like the clips of bad movies used to advertise them. StuRat (talk) 17:54, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Blatant publicity stunt.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:46, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

How so? 2602:252:D13:6D70:6533:6D2D:ACBE:8031 (talk) 19:48, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

It makes sense. Look at the publicity it got! ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:00, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, it got publicity. But the album is already sold. No profits to be made, at this point. So what good does the publicity do for the musical group? I still don't get it? 2602:252:D13:6D70:B47B:4FB2:48E2:6740 (talk) 20:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

It creates demand. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:34, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

I am still confused. Demand for what? 2602:252:D13:6D70:218B:AF5E:F560:98C6 (talk) 03:51, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Future albums, to be released to the general public. A comparison might be made with some fashion designer who designs a million dollar dress to be worn once, at the Oscars. They probably don't charge anything for the use of the dress, so lose lots of money on that particular dress, but the publicity allows them to sell more of their more mainstream fashions. That's sort of a loss leader, on steroids. StuRat (talk) 03:53, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I understand that whole concept (as a publicity stunt to increase demand for a subsequent similar product). In this case, however, I believe that I read that this would be the band's final album. So, again, what benefit does the musical group (the seller of the album) get from such an odd deal? Thanks. 2602:252:D13:6D70:218B:AF5E:F560:98C6 (talk) 07:39, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Band's final album ≠ last work of each participant. —Tamfang (talk) 08:24, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, good point. 2602:252:D13:6D70:9153:6944:89B5:F0A2 (talk) 17:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

How many bands have done "farewell tours" only to reassemble some years later... to do another "farewell tour"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:01, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, another good point. 2602:252:D13:6D70:9153:6944:89B5:F0A2 (talk) 17:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, stating that this was their last album might well just be more of the publicity stunt, to increase demand further. The buyer could conceivable sue, claiming that them making another album after promising not to, diminished the value of his purchase. However, unless the sales contract stated explicitly that this was their last album, I doubt if he would win. StuRat (talk) 18:05, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, interesting. I can imagine that the band would claim "hey, this is the last album we will ever make!", but I cannot imagine them committing that to writing (in a legal document). 2602:252:D13:6D70:9153:6944:89B5:F0A2 (talk) 21:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

According to (at least some of) the band members, it was an artistic statement. Our article says "The concept to offer a musical work in a single form was conceived by long time Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz and was based on music exploitation as a commissioned commodity in the Baroque, Enlightenment and Renaissance ages". Whether it's interesting or stupid as an artistic move is up to you. Apparently lots of the fans didn't appreciate it. There are plenty of examples of music artists (especially late-career) doing weird things which they say are in order to subvert the institutions of the music industry (Prince's name changing comes to mind). These are usually called artistic statements by the artists, and called publicity stunts by others. It's up to you how you receive it. Staecker (talk) 13:16, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

It's also up to the public whether it helps or harms the band. The basic idea reminds of a Bob and Ray commercial in which Ray had produced a PC printers. He was offering it for a million dollars. Bob says, "Nobody's going to buy it at that price!" Ray says, "Maybe not, but if someone does, I can retire!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:06, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

One more thought: apart from the possibility that the Wu-Tang Clan was aiming was to increase demand for hypothetical future albums, and apart from the possibility that they were passionately driven by the vision of what frankly comes across as a rather weak "artistic statement", there's at least one other possible motivation: bragging rights. One hears of hip hop artists buying thousands of copies of their own albums, not because it makes any sense from a profit standpoint but because they feel their ego and reputation are tied to whether it looks like people want their work. Yes, Wu-Tang might have made a ton more money and not angered their fan base if they'd sold the album the normal way, but hey, now they have an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records crediting them as creators of the most valuable album ever, which is something no one else can boast of. And despite all the negative publicity that has come from the album being sold to one of the least popular people in the United States, at the end of the day, making their music impossible to get has probably reinforced the perception that people want their music. Strange but true: some people are willing to throw away millions of dollars simply to stroke their own egos; Martin Shkreli may fall into that category as purchaser of a $2 million dollar album that he hasn't even listened to, and it seems likely that the Wu-Tang Clan may also have been partly motivated by the desire for "bragging rights". AtticusX (talk) 02:23, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Excellent point. As a general rule, artists have big egos. And do like them stroked. Good point. 2602:252:D13:6D70:9D55:2706:817F:DC85 (talk) 04:33, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, all. 2602:252:D13:6D70:657C:A416:4F22:21FA (talk) 17:08, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Girls und Panzer

Why does the English title of Girls und Panzer use the German "und" instead of "and"? Is it pronounced any differently from "and"? --KnightMove (talk) 11:09, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Since "Panzer" is a German word, maybe they're just being funny. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:53, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

As for pronunciation, it's /ʊnt/, which is like "unt" with a round u sound (almost like a short "oo" - it's the sound in foot or put). Smurrayinchester 10:34, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Moonlight Sonata

I have two versions of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 on my computer. The first movement, the adagio, is noticeably different between the two. On one (pianist unknown), the movement lasts 6:33. Though I am merely a musical troglodyte, this is how I think it should sound. Or, at least, this is the tempo that sounds familiar to me. The other version is played by Rudolf Buchbinder and is much faster, lasting only 4:45. Is it simply the case that Buchbinder is just following Beethoven's pedal mark or is there more at play here? Put simply, how long "should" the adagio last? Adagio means "at ease", right? 99.235.223.170 (talk) 15:43, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Note that, since this is on computer, it's possible the fast pace isn't intentional, but merely some type of programming/software error, similar to old silent movies, with low frame rates, that when played at modern frame rates seem too fast. StuRat (talk) 15:51, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

That seems extremely unlikely. 99.235.223.170 (talk) 19:48, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

I don't understand the connection between a pedal mark and the tempo of the piece. One's about where and how to use the pedals, the other's about how fast to play the music. Can you explain what you're getting at? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:44, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

(I see the section about the pedal mark says "the modern piano has a much longer sustain time". 99.235.223.170, did you interpret this to mean modern performances of this movement have longer duration times? The pedal mark is not related to tempo, see my note 2 below.) --Bavi H (talk) 21:12, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

It might be better if you compare the beats per minute (BPM) values instead of the duration (see note 1 below). The website Tempo Tap lets you tap the spacebar with the beat and shows you the beats per minute value. (Note: It calculates the average BPM over all the taps, so you might want to press X every so often to start a fresh calculation.)

Wikipedia's tempo article suggests adagio is "slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (66–76 BPM)", but "beats per minute (BPM) values are rough approximations."

While searching for information about Beethoven tempos, I learned he started using a metronome later in life and indicated BPM values (or "metronome markings") on new compositions and published BPM values for earlier compositions. However, it looks like most musicians feel his BPMs are too fast and suspect his metronome was miscalibrated. I can't find a list of all the BPM values Beethoven published, so I don't know if he indicated a BPM value for this sonata movement. If he did publish a BPM value for this sonata movement, maybe your faster recording decided to obey Beethoven's BPM, and your slower recording goes along with popular opinion.

Note 1: When comparing durations, watch out for repeated sections. In this reddit thread, one comment describes a Lisitsa version of the 3rd movement as a "normal" 6:47, and a Gould version as a "hilarious" 4:47. But a reply says "Gould's is faster, but most of the difference in time is due to the fact that Lisitsa takes a repeat that Gould doesn't. It comes at 1:29 in the Lisitsa, when she goes back to the beginning, and 1:20 in the Gould, when he goes into new material (the development section)."

Note 2: The pedal mark is not related to tempo. The pedal mark described in the article is just an instruction to depress the damper pedal for the entire piece to lift the dampers. (The damper pedal is also called the sustain pedal, or often just "the pedal" since it's the most often used pedal.)

About the pedal: Normally, when you release a piano key the sound stops (a damper comes down and stops the string's vibration). But if the pedal is pressed when you release a key, the sound keeps going (the damper is held back and the string continues to vibrate). When you release the pedal, the dampers go back down (except for keys you are currently pressing). Of course, if you hold the pedal (or a key) down for a long time, the sound won't continue forever, the string's vibration will eventually die out. On modern pianos, the time it takes for the vibration to die out is long. Holding the pedal down the entire piece would sound bad when the chords change because the different chords will blend together. The section about Beethoven's pedal mark says the vibration "die out" time was much shorter on pianos in Beethoven's time, so holding the pedal down the entire piece didn't sound so bad then: holding the pedal across a chord change would only result in a short blend between the chords. --Bavi H (talk) 20:57, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

These are good answers but it should also be noted that different pianists will play the work at different speeds. There are several reason for this. They can interpret Beethoven's notations differently, or their individual muse will move them to play a given work at the speed that they think they should be. The same applies to all musicians and conductors. When I was younger (much) I could fairly reliably tell when an orchestral piece was being conducted by Herbert von Karajan since it moved faster than most (IMO his version of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony moves along at an alarming pace) or Eugene Ormandy who liked the works to be played slower. While it is natural to pick the one you like the best and just listen to it there can be value in hearing other interpretations. I have discovered new things in a work that was played at a different pace then the one I was used to. MarnetteD|Talk 21:37, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, and unless they're using a metronome to make sure it's precisely in time with some pre-determined standard, the same performer will play the piece at slightly different speeds each time they play it. The speed throughout the piece will also vary, in slightly different ways each time. Their personal mood/feeling state comes into it, how they may have re-interpreted the music since they last played it, etc. A performer who always plays the same piece exactly the same way each time may be a superb technician but is no artist, imo. That would show no evidence of growth, development, or openness to limitless possibilities, and if music isn't about those things, it's not worth anything.

I distinguish such (subtly or otherwise different) live performances from a favourite recorded performance that moves the listener every time they hear it. But then, they're rehearing the same moving performance, not hearing different performances. If they heard that same musician play the piece live, they might find his interpretation had changed noticeably from the recorded version, and it may be even more revelatory, or it may be downright disappointing. That's the magic of music making: the risk involved. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:02, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

(Replying to several at once): Yes, I guess I had assumed that the pedal mark would influence the duration of the piece: if the notes you're playing are played more abruptly, I figured that would lead you to play the piece at a quicker pace. Not for nothing did I describe myself as a musical troglodyte! I cited the duration as a way of noting the differences between the pieces, but there's no misunderstanding the tempos - they're clearly being played at different rates. I won't link to it since it's likely a copyvio, but there's a Youtube video of Buchbinder playing the piece in Buenos Aires and it's very similar to the rate of the recording I've got (though he does seem to slow down very slightly after the first few bars). Appreciate the thoughtful replies so far - thank you! 99.235.223.170 (talk) 00:59, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

This all reminds me of the correct tempo for another classic, "Unchained Melody", courtesy of Vito and the Salutations.[2] Clarityfiend (talk) 01:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

How is the program of the Vienna New Year's Concert decided?

On the Vienna New Year's Concerts of this century, how was it decided what pieces of music are performed? Does the conductor of the year simply decide on his own after he is chosen? Or do candidate conductors have to send an election statement containing the program in advance, and the conductors are chosen after viewing that? Or perhaps there is program writer separate from the conductor for this? – b_jonas 16:04, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

I cross-posted this question to Music Fans Stack Exchange 2. I'll try to copy the answers but you may want to check there first. – b_jonas 17:07, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Need to find Judas's lyrics in "I don't know how to love him", only Magdalene's are easily findable

The song frequently surfaces in my head but I hadn't listened to the definitive Elliman version for real in years, so I dug it out and was captivated all over again. But I am going NUTS looking for Judas' WHAT IS GOING ON BOSS?ish lyrics which follow Mary Magdalene's, and are I think reprised as the poor sod kills himself. Except for a performance by some guy as a tribute to JCS on the 40th anniversary of JCS, I can't find that song performed by cast or pro cover artists, or any trace of the lyrics.

I can pull Mary's stuff into my singing range but I can NOT sing those words - only a woman can pull THAT off. I gather there is one version somewhere of Mary's stuff that a guy tweaked for gender and recorded, and THAT might be something I can use.

This is for private amateur performance, not public for money - I'm not that good and I never ever will be - 66 is a pretty late start as a solo folk artist and I listen to and perform for all the talent in my area once a week to polite and occasionally enthusiastic applause from people I have boundless admiration for. I hope someday to reduce the distance between me and the lowest-end pros from 50% of their talent to 30 or 40 - maybe even 25. That would please me greatly and represent great progress from the "doesn't suck totally" level I was at half a year ago.

Can anybody help me? I was really surprised that the search engines are so useless on this, showing me only covers, with her lyrics, of Magdalene's song ranging from the sublime to the frankly ridiculous. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gsd172 (talk • contribs) 21:53, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

See "I Don't Know How to Love Him" for our article. The lyrics to Judas' - reprise? - of the song are listed on various lyrics sites under the title "Judas' Death", if that helps. Tevildo (talk) 22:16, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

(Ah, a nice example of how gender in singing has strangely gotten more sharply delineated over time, paradoxically with loosening societal roles - a few centuries ago, we would not be hearing "I can NOT sing those words"! I'll have to file this one somewhere. Sorry for being OT but I couldn't resist.) Double sharp (talk) 01:45, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

You can see perusal copies of the score (in various orchestrations) here (login needed, but it's free to register). They will have the current "official" version of the words, though given the show's history they may have changed over time, and what's in these copies may differ from recordings. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 10:37, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

dallas season 2

Hello, I have started to watch the old series , and season 2 , ep 22 -- has Sue Ellen drinking while she is pregnant ,and driving too. The granddaughter - started to pop pills and becomes addicted to them . Sue Ellen falls down stairs , and almost losses the baby. etc .. the doc tells JR, that the drinking is becoming too dangerous for the baby's life , and tells JR that Sue Ellen needs to go to rehab .

but I can't find this in any of the description for the show - this was the full hour ! about the 2 addicts ..

please confirm, what to do ty c– — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cocobonneau (talk • contribs) 22:18, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

These plot elements are covered in our article Dallas (1978 TV series) (season 2) - is there somewhere else you think they should be mentioned? Tevildo (talk) 22:38, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

How about in fetal alcohol syndrome, under an "In popular culture" section (not yet created). StuRat (talk) 04:08, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, John Ross Ewing III does not suffer from this syndrome, so that probably isn't the place. Tevildo (talk) 08:46, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

That they mentioned the risk that this could occur, on the show, is enough to make it relevant. StuRat (talk) 17:56, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Enid Blyton's Famous Five series

How and when did the name "Famous Five" come to be applied to the book series? The individual books have titles like "Five get into trouble" and don't refer to "famous". The Wiki article doesn't explain this. 109.156.206.234 (talk) 22:59, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

According to this extremely comprehensive article, the phrase "The Famous Five" first appears on impressions of the books published in 1951. Before that, they were referred to as "The 'Fives' Books". The very first usage _may_ have been the first edition of Five on a Hike Together, or a 1951 impression of one of the earlier books. Tevildo (talk) 00:45, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Fascinating -- thanks. 109.156.206.234 (talk) 04:34, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

I've added the reference to the article. Tevildo (talk) 13:48, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Personal hypothesis: The secret seven books have an S S abbreviation. I reckon someone though that to be "cute" and decided to do similar to the Fives and make them F F . What could you have? Fabulous, Famous, Frenetic, ... -- SGBailey (talk) 12:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

December 20

Black Horse Mongolian Music

Hello! I have this beautiful piece of Mongolian music by a band named "Black Horse," but I cannot seem to find where to purchase it nor even more information on the band. When I tried my own research (using Disclogs and related), I hit dead ends after the "recording company" just turned out to be a Dutch technology company, as far as I could tell. Could anyone at least find where the rest of the album is either played or sold?

Here's a link to a YouTube channel with a sample of their music an their album cover, if it helps: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iwxorB9ZAkU

Thanks in advance!

Aqua817 (talk) 04:24, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Beautiful music! Like you, I had difficulty finding the album for sale. The Mongolia Society does appear to offer the CD for $20 on their products page; there's no "buy" button or shopping cart system on their website but if you contact them through their contact page perhaps they can tell you how you can purchase the CD from them. On the other hand, if streaming the tracks is good enough for you, you're in luck: all the tracks of the album have been uploaded at one time or another between YouTube and Tudou (a Chinese version of YouTube). Here are links to each of the tracks.

1. Chingges Khaanii Magtaal (With Huumii) (YouTube)
2. Sunjidmaa (YouTube)
3. Uulgan Shariin Domog (Tudou)
4. Huumiin Dorvon Torol (Tudou)
5. Ayalguu (YouTube)
6. Danaabal (YouTube)
7. Takhiin Magtaal (Tudou)
8. Abe Maria (Bakh Guno) (Tudou)
9. Tsonkhon Deer Suusan Yalaa (Tudou)
10. Kherlengiin Barya (YouTube)
11. Serebger Khadnii Zereglee (With Huumii) (Tudou)
12. Builgan Shariin Yabdal (YouTube)
13. Khun (Sen-Sans) (Tudou)
14. Dorbon Oiradiin Uria (Tudou)
15. Zurgaan Tumen Mongolia (With Huumii) (YouTube)

Hope this helps. AtticusX (talk) 03:58, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, it very much did! I had just heard a few of their songs and couldn't stand not to hear the rest. 2602:306:C4C7:F50:7C3D:3823:D3CB:241C (talk) 16:01, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Explain how this Swiss Family Robinson scene works

In the 1960 film Swiss Family Robinson, about halfway through the film, there is a scene where there was a struggle between "Bertie" and Ernst/Fritz in an attempt to disarm "Bertie." During the course of this struggle, Ernst managed to pull off "Bertie"'s hat and immediately concluded that "Bertie" was female (her real name was Roberta). I don't seem to fully understand this scene - since Roberta's hair was already cut short, and since it was uncommon for females to have such short hair during the early 19th century (the time period in which the original SFR story was set), how on earth did Ernst realize her true gender without taking off her other clothing? 96.246.144.195 (talk) 09:12, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Because it was a family film. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:59, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

It could have made ear studs visible, which in that time would have been extremely rare on an American (or Swiss) boy of that age. StuRat (talk) 18:00, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

You're guessing again, and wrongly. Looking at the picture, what strikes me is that the style of short hair seems more like something a girl would have. Perhaps Ernst already felt instinctively that she might be a girl and when he saw her whole head the instinct was stronger. --76.69.45.64 (talk) 23:59, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Watch your mouth, "newbie". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:54, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

"strikes me" is by definition guessing. As for that pic, it's so low res I couldn't tell if there was a small stud in the one visible ear, unless it happened to catch the light. StuRat (talk) 21:05, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Anyhow, while not directly addressing your question, TV Tropes says "...the actress playing the crossdressing character rarely does a convincing job... requiring suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience that the other characters encountering her really believe she is a man/boy. On the other hand, quite a few women really did get away with this surprisingly easily in the past..." Alansplodge (talk) 19:02, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I've only today seen the newest Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Am I allowed to post questions here revealing details about the movie's plot? JIP | Talk 19:39, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes - see WP:SW - but please be aware that questions such as "Why does Character X not do Very Obvious Thing?" aren't answerable, other than with "It's fiction." Tevildo (talk) 19:47, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

OK, here goes. Does anyone know how much Mark Hamill, playing Luke Skywalker, was paid to only appear for the last few minutes of the movie to do nothing but just stand there? And if Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, did really die (I mean Solo, not Ford), was this a pre-made decision on Ford's part? I mean, this means he won't be appearing in episodes VIII and IX, depriving him of further fame and income. JIP | Talk 19:52, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

There are ways. We thought Spock was dead after Star Trek II, but he was resurrected in Star Trek III. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:46, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

The producers keep future plots secret, and plans can change, for example due to fan reactions, availability of actors, new ideas from writers, directors, etc. Dead fictional characters are often less dead than expected (see comic book death). They can also appear in flashbacks, dreams, visions, ghosts, clones, etc. There is fan speculation that Kylo Ren will resurrect Darth Vader. Then again, there is also fan speculation that Jar Jar Binks will turn out to be a Sith mastermind who controlled the old emperor.[3] We will just have to wait and see. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:49, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

For the record, Ford has stated in interviews that he thought that Han Solo should have been killed back in Return of the Jedi,[4] and that he has expressed feelings that imply that he is not really particularly fond of the character.[5] Thus I highly doubt he cares about "further fame and income" if he appears as Han Solo again in VIII and IX. Zzyzx11 (talk) 07:36, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the replies. What still annoys me is that Luke Skywalker was a very central character, pretty much the whole reason the episode happened in the first place, and all that Mark Hamill actually did was just stand there, only moving to take his hood off. With my luck, he was paid for these few minutes far more than I'll earn in the next decade. Does anyone have more concrete information about this? JIP | Talk 22:22, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Apparently according to this about 650,000$$$ 199.19.248.55 (talk) 02:04, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

So that does mean he was paid more for a couple of minutes than I'll earn during the next decade. But I guess he doesn't have a full-time job earning over 600 thousand dollars in a few minutes. JIP | Talk 08:26, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

I assume he had a contract which required a lot of promotional work and other things. I'm sure Harrison Ford got far more per total hour of work. I have also seen meaningless calculations about the hourly earnings for boxers, like they never train or anything. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:36, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I calculated that if Hamill had a full-time job paying 600 thousand dollars for each few minutes, he'd make several billion per year. But I guess it's not exactly like that. To earn the 600 thousand dollars just to stand there for a few minutes, Hamill probably had to train for months, and was paid much less for that. And also I guess that when he's not contracted to any film, Hamill earns even much less than that. JIP | Talk 20:46, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Note that Harrison Ford is 73, and there can be many years between Star Wars sequels, so when the next one rolls out, he may be dead or too infirm to act in it, even if he wants to. StuRat (talk) 05:56, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

December 21

NES soundtracks

Did any Nintendo games have standalone soundtracks? Not counting bootleg stuff or "retro" compilations, but official concurrent tie-ins. Like Pac-Man Fever or Killer Cuts, but just for regular Nintendo. InedibleHulk (talk) 07:25, December 21, 2015 (UTC)

And not counting stuff like Nintendo: White Knuckle Scorin'. Just those with the same versions from the game (a little sweetening is fine). InedibleHulk (talk) 07:28, December 21, 2015 (UTC)

Lizard is an NES game that was funded on Kickstarter but hasn't had its final release yet, only a demo. The soundtrack is already available. --Bavi H (talk) 01:36, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

I was thinking more of the dusty past, when albums cost money and physically existed, but yeah, that works. Thanks. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:48, December 22, 2015 (UTC)

Are the following download sites fake?

http://filefist.com/201519, http://fileunlckr.com/26013, http://grippedownloads.co/PlantsVsZombies

I tried to download the game using these sites by participating into listed offers. Even after participating into offers, I am not able to get a download link. I want to know whether these download procedures are working on your pc or not. If there are other alternatives, please suggest me. 223.176.33.9 (talk) 10:02, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I can say that WOT rates them all as untrustworthy. —Tamfang (talk) 10:28, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

The game you're trying to download, Plants vs. Zombies 2 for PC, doesn't exist. The same fake "it works" comments appear all over the web. -- BenRG (talk) 16:07, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Well-organised hoax article

Hello, I have recently found what I think may be a very well-organised hoax article, claimed to be of a minor pop star named Nahla Rowe whose only album went top 5 in 2006 and has since become a fashion designer. There's a photo of them on Wikimedia uploaded by another single-use account a few months ago, and a few videos on YouTube claiming to be of interviews with them and of the songs from their album - all from the last few months by single-use accounts that never did anything else again. (The songs uploaded are actually ones by a minor R&B artist named Katharine McPhee with the titles changed.) I've put in an RfD on the article with discussion, but this seems so organised - they even put in WikiProject links! - that it might not be a one-off. (This person has an active Twitter page - one of my theories about the article is that it may be a real person whose Wikipedia page creator added a lot of fake material about a past as a pop star.) Any thoughts on how to deal with this? I'm not any kind of expert on entertainment Wikipedia articles, was just looking at the new pages feed. The accounts concerned are User:Musicbiblegod (for the article) and User:Fashionhousedaily who uploaded a photo of this person Blythwood (talk) 10:04, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, it appears to have been speedily deleted. See WP:SPEEDY for the procedure to follow in future. Clarityfiend (talk) 12:34, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

This is the type of thing that turns up in wikipediocracy's ridiculing editorials from time to time. Someone might create a hoax article that stays below the radar for years, until someone such as the OP here happens to run across it. Nomination for deletion is a good course to follow if it's a routine hoax. If it grossly violates Wikipedia rules, such as being a BLP violation, taking it to ANI might get faster action. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:29, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Hello all. I understand from Wikimandia that the endgame of this appears to be to sell a scam album of songs copied from other artists on iTunes. (Apparently this kind of thing has happened before - see Joyce Hatto.) Let me know if you see something else like this. There's a sockpuppet investigation into them opened which you could also contact if you see something. And yes I know - fortunately these attempts got spotted early. Blythwood (talk) 23:44, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

It was definitely very well organized and totally new to me. YouTube "interviews" and videos, a well-written and nearly plausible resume, a Twitter account with 50k+ followers, all with photos of the same person. You have to take a closer look - almost no interaction on Twitter (ie retweets, responses) and music videos are recently created with only about a dozen views. I had to reverse search a lot of photos until I tracked down the real person in the photos - a very pretty but unknown fashion designer whose claim to fame was rumor she was dating Nick Cannon. —Мандичка^YO 😜 01:38, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Agreed. I've now been alerted to a Buzzfeed article about what seems to be the same crew active this summer. The good news is that SPI has concluded and everything's been deleted. Best of all, we can now see that sockpuppet Logicequalslogical participated in deletion discussions on non-notable musicians - and often voted delete! Sounds like they were trying to pick up experience at sounding convincing. Damn these guys are good. Blythwood (talk) 01:42, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

I've checked, and found the "Nahla Rowe" music on Spotify, Tidal, iTunes, Microsoft Music and Amazon. Shazam identifies it as Katharine McPhee. I find it difficult to imagine how a scam could go this far without anyone discovering. Can a stunt of this magnitude be pulled off without the cooperation of someone who actually is in the music business? --NorwegianBlue ^talk 17:27, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

"Broadcast and Streaming" section on TV Series articles

User:KateWon has added "Broadcast and Streaming" sections to multiple TV Series articles. For example, on The Office, it says

All seasons of The Office can be streamed on Netflix[207] and Seeso (as of January 7th 2015).[208] Episodes may also be purchased through electronic sell-through platforms such as iTunes[209], Amazon Video[210], and Vudu.[211]

This seems like content that isn't Wikipedia worthy, and so should be removed.

Gbear605 (talk) 21:32, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

December 22

Clarification about the box office report of Indian Cinema.

Also asked at the Help Desk
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Dear Team, Sub : Clarification about the box office report of Indian Cinema. Myself Antony Allwin. Iam from Kerala. I had read your wikipedia of box office collection reports of Indian cinema. in that wikipedia you categorised film as language wise. it is good . but i would like to bring your attention to the tamil film box office collection report. in that report you said only 9 films as scored above 100 crores and the list includes the latest film 'Vedalam' also with 117 crores. My concerns is that where is the movie 'KATHI', with knowledge Kathi is the blockbuster hit of 2014. and the movie was collected more than 130 crores,but it is not mentioned in your report. if you read the wikipedia of the movie KATHI, you can see the box office collection of 130 crores. The, how can you say the collection amount of said film is differently in different wikipedia. kindly let me know the reason for that. If i am wrong, please let me know the actual box office collection of the film KATHI — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.239.248.130 (talk) 05:50, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Question about Kim Stanley Robinson's novel Aurora - spoiler warning

It's a great book; I admire it a lot. Some things bothered me though - a few relating to times when I felt the author's hand was too obviously moving things around according to his agenda - but my questions here are:

1 - Why is Freya so tall? It's mentioned often. She's a giant. Is it a reference to something from a previous book? I notice from a brief scan of his book 2315 that there are people called 'smalls'.

2 - It's pretty clear that the starship - 'ship' - is the narrator, and yet when the ship is destroyed in the Sun, the story continues. The voice is unchanged too. Who is writing the story at that point?

Thanks Adambrowne666 (talk) 13:08, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

I know nothing about the book, but isn't Freya a female giant in Norse mythology?

No. She's a goddess, not a giant, but the author may have been conflating the two types of powerful humanoids. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:51, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Is Elvis Presley recorded a song called 'Lonely This Christmas'?

149.78.15.121 (talk) 13:32, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

No... though a lot of sites, including YouTube, claim that Presley did sing this song. "Lonely This Christmas" was recorded by (and in 1974 a UK #1 hit for) the British glam rock band Mud, whose singer Les Gray was well known for his vocal impersonations of Presley. Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:38, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Elvis did record "Blue Christmas", which is sometimes confused with it. --Nicknack009 (talk) 14:47, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

December 23

Supermodel of the world

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to ask you if you know anything about competition Supermodel of the world

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Models_Supermodel_of_the_World

because I have noticed that this competition was not in year 2013, 2014 and 2015. Do you know anything?

Adriana — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.212.106.115 (talk) 09:51, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Maybe they wanted to see if anyone would notice. That's 1, so far, and it took 3 years. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:08, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

See also Ford Models. The competition is now called "Ford Model Search" and is run by V Magazine - this is the relevant page from their website, if anyone feels inspired to update the article. Tevildo (talk) 18:46, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Which song is this?

I heard a song on the radio yesterday when I was at a restaurant eating lunch. The words went something like this:

"Woo oo-oo woo oo woo-oo, woo oo-oo woo oo woo-oo. Barbra Streisand."

Does anyone know which song this is? JIP | Talk 20:31, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Actually, a quick Google search found this: Barbra Streisand (song). Is this the same song? JIP | Talk 20:34, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Are you asking us to confirm whether or not the song you linked to is the same song that you heard when none of us were present? It is available on YouTube, you know? Dismas|^(talk) 20:43, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

I had to update my Flash plugin to be able to view the song. After I did that, a quick look at the video confirmed that it is the same song. JIP | Talk 20:53, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

World War One.

Was World War One fun ? --Xenorhynchium (talk) 22:01, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Your question is way too vague. What do you mean by "fun"? And from whose point of view? Keep in mind the war involved many different countries. But as to my knowledge, it was nowhere near fun. The situation in central Europe had been tense for years, if not decades, and all it took was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria to trigger the political situation off. And this of course also resulted in World War II, because Adolf Hitler thought Germany had been treated too badly in World War I.

None of the people I have known in my lifetime were alive during World War I. But my own grandfather served in the Winter War, a conflict related to World War II. JIP | Talk 22:08, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

War any war is never "fun", so unless you have anything more specific we can close this one. MilborneOne (talk) 22:35, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

See The Wipers Times and the various articles linked from War song#World War I songs. Tevildo (talk) 22:52, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Only for those who didn't have to participate in it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:20, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the only good to come of World War One was to deprecate the idea that war could be glorious, because World War One was so horrible, so much more horrible than most people thought it would be. Part of the problem, but by no means all, was European pride in thinking that they were better than Americans, because if they had looked to American history, they could have seen that a land war might last four years and be terribly divisive and that there would be no winners, just that different sides would lose different amounts. Anyway, it discredited the ancient concept that war could be glorious. Robert McClenon (talk) 01:31, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

December 24

art similarities

I was looking at some pictures of the TWA Flight 800 International Memorial. There was this bas relief carving. It consisted of an ocean wave releasing 230 seagulls into the sky. By any chance, was that type of artwork inspired by The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai?142.255.95.167 (talk) 04:33, 24 December 2015 (UTC)