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December 26

For What It's Worth - Steven Stills Live

On an old Crosby, Stills, and Nash PBS show, Stephen Stills did a solo version of For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield song) with an electric guitar. Is a performance like this commercially available? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 06:41, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't ever recommend a copyright violation, so please don't do this, but have you tried YouTube? --Jayron32 06:44, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I believe it is this performance, but I would like to have that (or one very similar) on a commercial CD (or mp3). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 06:46, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if this is the exact same performance, but my spidey-sense says it may be. It appears to have been released on the "Live in LA" CD, info of which is here from Allmusic.com --Jayron32 06:51, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Also, This appears to be the video of the same performance, also info from Allmusic.com --Jayron32 06:54, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure if it is the same. The one I saw was on PBS in the early 90s. It is the one on YouTube, so at least I have that. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:55, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

spec screenplay

Can anyone in the world make a spec screenplay for hollywood films? Or, are there eligibility criteria for being screenwriter? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.224.149.10 (talk) 08:06, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone can do anything. It won't actually get read, but you can write anything you want. --Jayron32 18:04, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Spec script gives some info. If you can get an agent, there's more chance people will read it (most agents will only be looking for people with professional experience in film or other genres). It's common but not essential to register the screenplay with the WGA[1] or similar organisations; this protects against studios stealing your idea. If you google "selling spec screenplay" or something like that you'll get tons of advice[2][3]; one site reckons 1 in 5000 spec scripts submitted to studios will be bought (and even fewer will be produced).[4] --Colapeninsula (talk) 18:30, 26 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You might want to read this as well. I know it's discouraging advice, but at least it's honest. IBE (talk) 03:12, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

NB: I just realised that might come across badly - read the link as an insider's explanation of how things work, like the story behind the statistic given by Colapeninsula. Don't think I'm pushing a negative line - good luck with your screenplay. IBE (talk) 03:16, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That's a good article, thanks for sharing it. I like the line, "If someone can talk you out of being a writer, you're not a writer." —Kevin Myers 21:07, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

yeah that is a good article. It is better to check with friends before going to a professional for reviews. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.224.149.10 (talk) 07:51, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 27

jOHWAYNE QUOTES

IN WHAT MOVIE DID JOHN WAYNE TELL A DOG TO PLAY DEAD? THE DOG DID PLAY DEAD BUT WAS STILL WAGGING HIS TAIL. JOHN TOLD HIM "DEAD DOGS DONT WAG THEIR TAIL" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.20.52.55 (talk) 01:28, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You hit your caps lock at the "H" of Wayne and left it on. Posts are signed with 4 x ~.Britmax (talk) 14:03, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There's an "H" in Wayne? (John Whayne, perhaps?) :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 19:21, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There's an H in "John" and the moral is to read the post rather than pressing "save" before answering the door. Britmax (talk) 23:17, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

A John Wayne movie in which a dog played a prominent part was Big Jake, but I don't recall if the scene you describe was in it. —Kevin Myers 20:45, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Poker question

In a non community hand of poker, is 4 aces with a king kicker = to 4 kings with a ace kicker? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gadgettools (talk • contribs) 04:40, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No, the kicker only comes into play in a tied hand. Since there is only one way, in a non-wild game, to make four aces, the kicker is irrelevent. All four-aces hands always beat all four-kings hands. Kickers only come into play in games with pairs or two-pairs when there is a tie that needs to be broken, or in community hands where cards are shared, or in wild-card games, where multiple four-of-a-kinds of the same card are possible. Kickers are never needed in anything better than two-pairs for non-wild, non-community games of standard poker (5 or 7 card draw or stud games). --Jayron32 04:46, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, and to correct something else you said, four-of-a-kind ranks below the straight flush. The most powerful hand in a (non-wild) game is a "royal flush" or A K Q J 10 of the same suit. --Jayron32 04:49, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you have 4 aces with a king kicker vs. 4 kings with an ace kicker, it's time to break out a new deck. Clarityfiend (talk) 04:53, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Note, the OP originally had a longer post, but edited most of it out for some reason. The removed sections make my comments a bit nonsensical, given that I was responding to stuff that the OP had said when I answered them. For one example, Clarityfiend's comment was already dealt with by the OP in their original comments, but they removed them. --Jayron32 05:05, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This is also answered at List of poker hands. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 16:31, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fictional corporations with ideological goals

I am fascinated with fiction that involves some kind of non-governmental entity, mostly corporations, that conduct espionage and covert operations normally relegated to the CIA in movies or MI6 in James Bond to achieve something more than profit. I suppose the corporation in 007: Nightfire, the IBBC in The International, or the organization from Burn Notice would be three. Can anyone give me some more examples? --Melab±1 ☎ 19:43, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Starkwood in 24 (season 7). --Viennese Waltz 20:14, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The firm in the film Inception are doing this sort of thing to try take over another firm or something I believe. The article description gives a bit of an explanation but that's one that i've seen recently that comes to mind (though until read plot summary my memory assumed the main company were government based). ny156uk (talk) 21:07, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The Centre from The Pretender (TV series). Royor (talk) 07:45, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This figures prominently in the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, especially in Green Mars. Meelar (talk) 20:23, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I remember watching Alias a few years back, which had a similar theme. Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 22:50, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

how can i add info to an exsisting page

hi i was wondering hoe to update info on a wiki site about pretty boy Floyd — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.179.35.22 (talk) 21:18, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You go to the Pretty Boy Floyd article, and either pick Edit at the top to edit the entire article, or above a section to just edit that section. (I'm assuming you want to edit the English Wikipedia article, but it should work in a similar fashion at any wiki.) StuRat (talk) 21:27, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

English football abbreviations

In the various English football league season tables, the teams are abbreviated to three letters across the top. I noticed that there are no common abbreviations across several levels of leagues, and over many years, although I haven't checked them all obviously. Are these official abbreviations, comparable to the IOC or FIFA country codes, or were they the creation of the article or table creators, or perhaps the football WikiProject? Either way, is there a comprehensive list of these abbreviations somewhere? (Similarly, the same type of abbreviations are on tables for leagues in other countries, such as La Liga in Spain, or Fußball-Bundesliga in Germany. Same questions relating to them.) Thank you. — Michael J 22:54, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I would venture (having lived in the UK with a lifetime of football result reading to draw on) that in the absence of a standard authority on such things any variation derives from editors copying the style of the publication from which they usually obtain their football results. The abbreviations vary from newspaper to newspaper and between other sources in a similar way and our open editing policy here probably does the rest. So there is unlikely to be a "standard" list anywhere. Britmax (talk) 23:07, 27 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think the abbreviations change dependent on which 2 teams are playing too. If Man United and Man City are playing they may show "Man U 1 - 1 Man C" but if Man United were playing West Brom it may show "Man 1 - 1 WBA". ny156uk (talk) 10:42, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No, it would never say just "Man". United and City are always shown as "Man U" and "Man C" even where no disambiguation is required. --Viennese Waltz 11:03, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's a sporting tradition in some places never to resort to undisambiguated terms. AFL players, when talking on TV or radio about the clubs they play for, always but always refer to their "football club", never just their "club". We sort of know they're football clubs they're talking about, not tiddlywink clubs. But that's sport for you. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 18:46, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

We see that a lot in the USA also. Reporters and players will say "this football team" or whatever. Less so with baseball, which is still the "national sport" in some sense. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:19, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

They also often mention that they are playing "the game of football", in case we didn't realize it. Adam Bishop (talk) 19:10, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe they just like saying the word "football". I've also heard "this game of baseball", but less often. Possibly "confirmation bias", but just "ball", as opposed to "baseball" has always been very common. If you say you're a ballplayer, it's baseball by default. Otherwise you have to specify the sport (football, basketball, soccer, rugby, etc.) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:48, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

All interesting information, thank you, but I was referring specifically to the results tables on the Wikipedia articles about each football season. Each club is identified by a unique three-letter all-caps abbreviation (e.g., Aston Villa is AST, Manchester United is MNU, etc.) that carries over from season to season, and from level to level when teams are promoted or relegated. Someone obviously created a comprehensive list, I just wonder who, if it is an official FA list (like those of the IOC or FIFA), or is it unique to Wikipedia? Either way, does it exist in list form anywhere? — Michael J 19:37, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 28

recreation picture

I'm interested in buying a picture. It's of the CSI:NY cast recreating Lunch atop a Skyscraper. Where's a good place to start? Anyone know?24.90.204.234 (talk) 08:25, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like prints show up on eBay from time to time. --LarryMac | Talk 12:49, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Are there any other sources?24.90.204.234 (talk) 18:51, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

British Film Comedy - Know plot but don't know title or actors - Can anyone help?

Hello, I'm new to Wikipedia so I'm not sure I'm doing this right! When I was a child I remember BBC1 running a season of British Film Comedies. The series included the Boulting Brothers' "A French Mistress"; "I'm Alright Jack" and several others which have come up since over the years. However, there is one which I can remember enjoying but can only recall the plot and never noted the title. My mother, who watched the film with us, thought that it was called simply "The Flea Pit" but numerous searches haven't brought anything to light. The plot centred on a young couple's desperate attempts to rescue and save an old and much-loved cinema. There were several set-backs along the way including a severe fire. I, alas, cannot remember who starred in it. I have looked at Filmographies of all the usual suspects on Wikipedia (Hayley Mills, Esma Cannon, James Robertson-Justice, Cecil Parker,to name but a few) but nothing. Does anyone recall this film from my description?

Thank-you, Tim Marlow — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.212.37.71 (talk) 15:06, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The Smallest Show on Earth. --Viennese Waltz 15:25, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That darn hat

That hat that was worn by Robin Hood and King Graham... Does it have a particular name? All I have been able to find out about their clothes is that the colour of Robin's clothes is called lincoln green, but that's about it. I am very curious about this subject. Grey ghost (talk) 20:32, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It doesn't seem to have a special name other than "Robin Hood hat". Various sites suggest it originated much later than Robin Hood, even as late as Errol Flynn's costume designer for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 21:09, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I suspect it of being in fact a Tyrolean hat, belonging to William Tell, who is a kind of analogue of Robin Hood - his page has Robin Hood in the "see also" section (without giving any explanation). Card Zero (talk) 21:40, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Tyrolean hats don't date from the same age as Robin Hood. The hat has been associated with Robin Hood for longer than that. The last time this question was asked at the ref desks, see here, it was determined that the hat was called a bycoket, see this google search for examples. --Jayron32 22:54, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How surprisingly historical. This page [5] has an image of a bycocket (worn backward) from the Luttrell Psalter, which brings it very close to the place and time that Robin Hood supposedly inhabited. Not sure how to square the information that the man is working in the fields with the information at Cap of Maintenance, which says wearing it is a privilege. There's also this [6] drawing, which may or may not be based on a historical source. Searching for "abacot" just turns up pictures of ducks. (When do Tyrolean hats date from, anyway?) Card Zero (talk) 23:47, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 29

Michelle Pfeiffer - Power Passion and Murder

Why is Power Passion and Murder not credited to Michelle pfeiffer in the filmography section? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.236.19.35 (talk) 01:36, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Because there does not appear to have ever been a movie under that title, or, at least, none that IMDB can find: see [7]. --Jayron32 01:54, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It exists. I found it on several sites via Google. It looks like it first came out in 1987 and came to DVD in 1999. Here's the page from Rotten Tomatoes (not much detail). I don't know why its not on IMDB. RudolfRed (talk) 02:03, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Because, like Wikipedia, IMDb is fed by user contributions, although its protocols and access levels are differently organised. If nobody has ever brought a particular movie or actor or to IMDb's notice, they wouldn't list them. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]}

It apparently has another name: Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 03:41, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

AHA. That explains it. Tales from the Hollywood Hills was apparently a series of TV movies made in 1987-1988. If you do some searches for that specific phrase, you can find info on many of them. --Jayron32 04:26, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Getting back to Jack's point, production companies and such often add roles to actor/actress filmographies on IMDb. It would be surprising to me that a company wouldn't put their film on IMDb especially when someone as well known as Pfeiffer was in it. Dismas|^(talk) 17:34, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

computer animated movie

Why would it cost so much to make a computer-animated movie? I realise that the film-maker will have expenses for render-farm time and salaries for talented animators, lighters, modelers, etc; but why might the cost of such a film approach the same dozens of millions of dollars as a non-computer animated film?

Duomillia (talk) 02:33, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You could make a cheap computer animation film, if you film things computers do easily, like geometric shapes and fractal patterns. It's having people and creatures fully animated that makes it expensive.

Looking at it another way: How long would it take you to draw one frame of animation ? How many frames are there in a movie ? Now multiply. StuRat (talk) 04:41, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you're making a live-action film (without many special effects) the big labour-intensive and expensive part is shooting it with the actors on camera, which may take 10 or 20 weeks; Toy Story 3 took over 3 years to make, and most of that time was labour-intensive and skilled work. This Wired article summarises the process[8] - there are a lot of steps involved in producing the visuals from modelling to animation to rendering (voice recording and screenplay rewrites were done at the same time). A lot of making a conventional feature film doesn't take many people (e.g. film editing is 1 or 2 people in a small room) but on an animated film you have 3 or 4 years with dozens (more likely hundreds) of people labouring full time. --Colapeninsula (talk) 14:54, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The amount of man-hours involved in making a cartoon is directly proportional to the quality, or lack thereof. Disney and Warner turned out high-quality, full-animation shorts and features, and they were very labor-intensive. Hanna-Barbera settled on "limited animation" for their TV series (The Flintstones, et al.) and were thus able to crank them out faster. And to really do it on the cheap, you could go with the Clutch Cargo approach. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:33, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a Clutch Cargo episode for those who are curious [9]. South Park is another example of animation done on the cheap. If it's funny enough, nobody cares how bad it looks. And the best part of watching the Flintstones was counting how many times the same background passed by as they walked or drove anywhere. :-) StuRat (talk) 22:29, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Awesome. With his pals Spinner and Paddlefoot. There's one cartoon where you could actually count the number of individual drawings used. But you learn something new every day: (1) he throws the football-shaped object left-handed, like Tim Tebow; and (2) he's much better than Tebow at hitting the intended receiver. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:00, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This might be an example of the ultimate in cheap animation:[10] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:55, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, funny stuff doesn't really need expensive animation, the cheapness can even be part of the joke. StuRat (talk) 02:44, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

On a related note, the average budget for AAA titles in games nowadays is $10 million to $30 million. Like movies, they also require concept/storyboard/2d artists, art directors, project/team managers, writers, a soundtrack, sfx artists, vfx artists (including shader programmers, etc.), publicity, [voice and/or motion capture animation] actors (which in CG film and games nowadays tend to be actual film actors/actresses), etc. in addition to various coders, UI designers, character/prop 3d modelers and texture artists, animators, level designers, testers, consultants, translators, the time it takes to render the frames, a custom-built world editor, licensing for 3d, 2d, and programming software/stock art or textures/specialized software for realism and/or additional fx (e.g. Terragen; SpeedTree; algorithms/renderers for hyperrealistic hair, fur, and clothing), a lot of the most up-to-date computer hardware, etc.

The main difference is that in games and CG movies, they are actually paying for skilled backbreaking work not for the popularity of an actor/actress. You can pay the annual salary of hundreds of highly skilled 3d artists working full-time (and frequent unavoidable coffee-driven overtime) for the same amount of money you would pay to get a Julia Roberts. -- Obsidi♠n Soul 11:39, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

In other words, you're saying because it take a LARGE number of highly skilled people to make such a movie: (just a hypothetical example) 1 000 highly skilled animators, lighters, modelers, planner, programmers, etc X 100 000 $ = 100 000 000 $. eg Tintin. Duomillia (talk) 14:41, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

frequent documentary/reportage soundtrack song

often it's used as a sonic background for philosofical/religious topics like the future of humankind, life, God, the end of the world and so on, thus is quite ambient and ethereal, new age. At first a woman performs a melody with her voice without speaking words, then she start singing. After I seem a choir of children start to sing. I'd like to find the title.. thanks --192.35.17.21 (talk) 10:58, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Not much to go on but my first thought was "Sanvean" by Lisa Gerrard (which, admittedly, doesn't have a children's choir in it). YouTube clip here. --Viennese Waltz 11:06, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nearly! Thanks to your advice I found it: Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard - Now We Are Free (no children indeed) --192.35.17.21 (talk) 13:51, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Ah yes, Lisa's the go-to girl for when you want a singer for the future of humankind, life, God and the end of the world all right :) Glad you found it. --Viennese Waltz 14:01, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Boxing

Hi

I wonder if you can help, wikipedia has my brother's boxing history listed under the title all Ireland champion 1985 Gary Muir but when you click on the link, it is another Gary Muir, a footballer and not him the boxer, do you know how I can have this rectified. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.29.247.179 (talk) 23:23, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've fixed the link to point to "Gary Muir (boxer)" though we don't have an article on your brother yet, so it's a red link.

Note for other regular editors... Shouldn't the B and T be in lower case? Dismas|^(talk) 23:42, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, and they now are. AJ Cham 02:39, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 30

books about collectibles

I'm trying to find books about Wonder Woman collectibles and The Adventures of Tintin collectibles. When I tried looking on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, I got many titles. What's a good title for what I'm trying to find?24.90.204.234 (talk) 07:22, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The generic term for such is memorabilia. Sometimes specific items have their own names, such as breweriana to refer to items commonly found in pubs such as beermats, glasses and ashtrays. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:56, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wired question about certain sort of porn

Hi! I have a wired fetish - rich girls. I love them. I look for a list of porn videos with real rich girls as actors. I know only one example. Can you help me find more? :)

Sorry for vulgarity of the question. I'm from Germany. --Ewigekrieg (talk) 20:43, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Reminds me of: I know nothing. I am from Barcelona. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 22:43, 30 December 2011 (UTC) [reply]

I believe that one of the Kardashians released a sex tape (Kim?)--not sure if she was rich at the time, but she definitely is now. Meelar (talk) 23:11, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Some have become rich by being in porn, does that count? Dismas|^(talk) 17:26, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Someone who's already wealthy doesn't need to do porn. Unless they're total exhibitionists or something. I keep waiting for someone to take the question literally and talk about bondage with piano wire or something. Eek. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:35, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Montana Fishburne? Adam Bishop (talk) 17:49, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Crave? Dismas|^(talk) 03:08, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Spoken intro to old R&R song

Hi All, I have been trying for years to find a song from, I believe, the early 70's. As an intro two (or three?) voices are speaking different words at the same time. Each word is spoken individually, that is they are not part of a sentence, so it would be like...Balance/Copy (spoken together by two different people)...Action/Blanket...Possibility/Extend...I think there were 4 or 5 sets, then a voice says, "Yes, I know," and then the song starts with a lead guitar riff. I don't recall the words being especially meaningful or profound and I don't know if it was actually part of the song or might have a seperate track listing. Thanks for any help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.66.156.178 (talk) 23:52, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 31

Alien invasion movie

Watching The Darkest Hour brought to mind another alien invasion movie I watched a few years back, but can't remember the name of. I watched it on the Internet, however, so it could be much older than a few years.

This movie broke with every alien-invasion cliche I can think of. Most alien movies focus on several average-Joe people in a city, a few of which get killed by aliens by the end, and sometimes involves a guy protecting his girlfriend. This movie focuses on one very tough, female-warrior-type girl who protects her friends and family, with other characters going in and out. Also unlike in the cliche, this girl is not likeable, but rather an antihero who's despicable in nearly every way. She has very few admirable qualities, her toughness is more machismo than actual courage, and the audience sometimes wishes that the alien overlords would torment her more cruelly. The aliens are not the soulless machine-like entities we see in the cliche, and despite having a murderous mission, some of them have very charming and likeable personalities. If I remember correctly, the ending was also not the cliched "there's still hope for humanity, though it's a long road ahead"; it was highly unusual and ambiguous.

Does anyone know what movie this is? I really liked it, if only because it was highly unconventional, and I'd like to re-watch it if I could. --99.237.252.228 (talk) 02:47, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

District 9? --Jayron32 02:50, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No, District 9 is mostly about humans killing and oppressing other sentient beings. That's not really a film cliche; it's just a real-life cliche. --99.237.252.228 (talk) 03:56, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Can you give us more details? What did the aliens look like? What did they do? What was the setting of the film, country, city, etc? What weapons did the alien have? How did they torture her? Did they arrive in space ships that were shown? What powers did they have Can you remember any specific incident? Broad strokes are good but a specific incident will act as much more of a signature for our memories.--108.46.103.88 (talk) 07:43, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The English Patient (film)

What is the song that Hana (the nurse attending to Count Laszlo de Almásy (played by Ralph Fiennes) after he is burned) plays on the piano?Curb Chain (talk) 03:17, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe you mean the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 03:19, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Which variation?Curb Chain (talk) 05:57, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Is the song at the beginning of the credits the same?Curb Chain (talk) 07:23, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You credit my memory with impossible things. Flattering, but we need a link. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 07:26, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Why do tennis players bounce up and down?

I'm not talking about bouncing the ball. I'm talking about bouncing up and down themselves, particularly while awaiting serve. HiLo48 (talk) 03:49, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Helps to keep them limber, like stretching before a jog ? StuRat (talk) 03:54, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

But stretching before a jog is done when the body has been idle for a while. The bouncing I speak of happens on almost every point, in the middle of long matches, when the body is obviously all warmed up and very stretched, and only seconds after playing the previous point. It would like the batter in a baseball game bouncing up and down after every pitch while the ball is being returned to the pitcher. I can't think of a parallel in other sports. HiLo48 (talk) 03:58, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Quarterbacks in American football do this, or something similar, while sitting in the pocket waiting to throw a pass. This is because at any moment, the pass protection may break down and the quarterback may have to scramble to avoid getting tackled. This video and the related ones show that this is a trained technique. This video shows similar training for tennis players. It is also a trained technique there as well. Standing flatfooted in anticipation of having to make a quick move is a bad idea. At least, that's the idea behind bouncing slightly or shuffling the feet. It keeps you mentally and physically ready to move quickly in any direction if you need to. --Jayron32 04:17, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Boxers tend to bounce around a bit, perhaps due to the giant trampoline they are standing on. StuRat (talk) 04:19, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) Also, regarding baseball, batters don't bounce up and down, but many often do wiggle the bat back and forth a bit in anticipation of hitting the ball; same idea. --Jayron32 04:20, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's all part of their physical and mental preparation - keeping oneself "alert" and poised. Many batters wiggle the bat as Jay says, and most also take swings while waiting for the pitcher to go into his set or windup position. Just watch Jim Thome sometime. And for us old-timers, there was Joe Morgan with his constant "wing-flap" mannerism of his trailing arm. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:42, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Taco Bell US TV ad

This ad seems really jerky, like it has a very low frame rate. It's the one where someone brings their taco 12-pack to a party. Has anyone else noticed this ? If not, perhaps my local stations just got a bad copy. StuRat (talk) 06:24, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen the ad several times, and haven't noted that problem. Not that I was looking, but it didn't stand out in that way for me. --Jayron32 06:26, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Tune from Monty Python sketch

At around the six-minute mark in this video, a tune starts playing. Can anyone identify it? LANTZY ^TALK 10:04, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Can't place it, although it's obviously a bagpipe tune of some kind. Maybe while they're at it, the experts could identify the bagpipe number in this one, also:[11] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:53, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Um, you mean bagpipe as in piano accordion? I would say it's a reel--Shantavira|^{feed me} 13:41, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Fine. The question is whether the tunes are traditional, or just something made up for these sketeches. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:45, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I occasionally play in a ceilidh band, and we have literally hundreds of tunes in this style (the Python one, I mean) to choose from. For that reason I'd suspect it's an existing tune rather than one specially written for the programme, but unless someone recognises it it could be difficult to identify it. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 18:02, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

FWIW I just blew the dust of my edition of "The Complete Unexpurgated Scripts" - often a good source for this type of question - but unfortunately the music is not named there.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 20:18, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

January 1

Song in Danish video ?

Happy New Year everyone if you're in 2012 already!

Does anyone know which 80's (?) song is used here in this funny (but Danish so I'm not sure) song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyzs_wwgs-M at 1:05? Thanks! Joepnl (talk) 02:15, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Happy New Year. I added a title to your question. StuRat (talk) 02:37, 1 January 2012 (UTC) [reply]

Are you saying the whole song is not original? The song doesn't seem to sample anything technically or artistically.Curb Chain (talk) 03:50, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Found it! http://www.midomi.com/ is my friend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43OdtAAkM 1:00 Kate Bush, Running up that hill. It does sound a bit similar doesn't it? (txs StuRat, and still experimenting with SQL) Joepnl (talk) 04:07, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

gran turismo 5 ffb

hey does anyone know what the default setting for force feedback is? I mean I have it at 1, but it was messed with, and so I'd like to know what the default was Can't seem to find any reset option there thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.35.3.163 (talk) 08:56, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It is set at 5 on my system - I'm almost certain this will be the default setting as I've not used a FFB wheel, so would have had no reason to change it. AJ Cham 16:18, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Was the song "Lilongo" written originally for "The Three Caballeros"?

I am curious as to whether the song "Lilongo" was written originally for the 1944 Disney film "The Three Caballeros" or if it was written previous to its inclusion in the film. Four of the songs in "The Three Caballeros" ("Os Quindins de Yaya", "Have You Been to Bahia", "Jesusita en Chihuahua", and "La Zandunga") had been written previous to the film, while three of the other songs ("The Three Caballeros", "Bahia", and "You Belong to My Heart") featured lyrics written originally for the film, but used pre-existing melodies. I have been having trouble finding information on the song "Lilongo". I asked about the song in D23's (the official Disney fan club) "Ask Dave" segment, but unfortunately he did not say whether the song was written for the film or not. Here is what he did say:

- "“Lilongo” was written by Felipe “El Charro” Gil, and copyrighted in the U.S. by the music publisher Peer International Corp. in 1946. It is in the Son Jarocho style, a traditional musical style of the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Gil was born in Misantla, Veracruz, in 1913, into a family of musicians, and he made a study of the music of the area."

I know that the song had to have been written previous to its U.S. copyright date, as "The Three Caballeros" was released two years earlier. Does anybody either know anything about this song or have any ideas on how I could discover its original date of composition?--Jpcase (talk) 21:14, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Movie Title

I am trying to find a title of a drama film (possibly in black and white) about a romance relationship that was stopped by his family being Italian because it was found out that the woman had an unsavoury past. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Regards Sincerely Dona Lay