Wikipedia:Reference desk/Entertainment

Welcome to the entertainment section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

February 2

Spellbreaker

If you put the cube that takes you to the Boneyard in the gold box, take it out, drop the gold box somewhere, and then die (instead of casting blorple on the cube that takes you to the Boneyard), is it possible to go west to where you dropped the box? Double sharp (talk) 10:08, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

You may want to ask the above at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing. -- Uzma Gamal (talk) 12:00, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Research on california punk band

More information on the underground punk band RebelRebel from Los Angeles I only have recordings from them on cassette tape I would like to know more about their discography and history thank you76.178.43.241 (talk) 19:26, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

This site gives a history but not a discography - maybe they didn't record as such? --TammyMoet (talk) 20:43, 2 February 2013 (UTC) Here's their website. They do have some CDs which seem to be self-published. Enjoy!--TammyMoet (talk) 20:45, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Writing a script

Is it needed to include the talking between the characters? Kotjap (talk) 21:36, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Yes. There is some information at Screenplay along with links to other sources. RudolfRed (talk) 21:49, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

No it's not necessary to have a written script, this is known as Improvisation or Improv for short. For example, the films of Mike Leigh are almost completely improvised: the characters are given the scene and the situation and told to improvise. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:13, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

In general, yes, it is necessary to include dialogue if you wish to be taken seriously as a novice screenwriter. Learn the rules before you decide to break them. Evanh2008 ^{(talk|contribs)} 23:38, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Are European films broadcasted in America?

Thank. Kotjap (talk) 21:42, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Yes, although they are not as popular as English-language films. However, some even crop as Oscar nominees, including Amour, this year. RNealK (talk) 00:17, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Technically speaking some European films are actually in the English language. Specifically movies from the UK and Ireland. --Saddhiyama (talk) 00:28, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

I've seen many European films on American TV. Bravo (U.S. TV channel) and IFC (U.S. TV channel) both are known for airing many such films, though you can find some on just about any U.S. movie channel (AMC, HBO, Showtime, TCM, etc.) --Jayron32 00:44, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Not many or often. Especially if they are not in English. Americans rarely watch subtitled movies unless they have "Oscar buzz". Rmhermen (talk) 18:59, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Looking at boxofficemojo,com, unless I missed one, it looks as if the best-selling non-English language film in the US of all time is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, at number 330 on the list. [1]. RNealK (talk) 23:38, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm... Taiwan isn't really in Europe though. Alansplodge (talk) 17:42, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Crouching Tiger was available dubbed and most Americans watched it that way. I saw the subtitled version the first day on 42nd Street. About 2/3 of the audience were young Chinese men, and I have never seen people have such a good time as they did. It was a thrilling, amazing experience. μηδείς (talk) 18:09, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

I watched a double bill of Le Hussard sur le toit (a French historical romance) and Il Mostro (an Italian farce) at the Four Star Theater in San Francisco, whose audience is or was mostly Chinese. In Il Mostro, the protagonist has a Chinese language lesson, and most of the audience cracked up when he counted to ten; I wish I knew why. —Tamfang (talk) 15:41, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

However, the question was specifically about European films. On the same list we have at No 16 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 which was a joint US and UK production but filmed entirely in the UK with British or Irish actors, along with all the other films in the franchise. The Bond movies are a bit more British, but still with US financial backing. The highest scoring all-British film is the King's Speech at 282. If (as many do) you believe that the UK isn't really part of Europe, then the highest are Life Is Beautiful (Italy) at 1,106 (the subtitled version easily outstripping the dubbed one),[2] Amélie (France) at 1,973 and Il Postino (Italy) at 2,631. The highest grossing Irish film that I could find was In the Name of the Father at 2,430 followed by The Commitments at 3,295. Alansplodge (talk) 17:42, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

There are generally two types of movie theaters in the US. The mainstream theaters are the ones talked about above, which rarely show foreign films, especially with subtitles. However, there are also "art theaters" which pride themselves on showing obscure movies for their sophisticated customers, and they often included subtitled foreign films. Every major city is likely to have at least one art theater. Here is a French film, with English subtitles, listed under the coming attractions for the Detroit Institute of Arts Film Theatre (note that they even spell "Theatre" in the European manner): [3] (this is a 1971 film, but they also show recent films). StuRat (talk) 19:38, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

You know what, I think I'm going to stop posting on this page. No matter what I say, somebody decides to make some nasty comment about it. What is wrong with you people? RNealK (talk) 22:36, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, where's the nasty comment that triggered that reaction? Britmax (talk) 22:47, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm... Taiwan isn't really in Europe though. It's like everybody rushes to be the first to make demeaning questions to try to make others look small. RNealK (talk) 22:56, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

I saw that as a gentle attempt to return the responders to the original question. Although I must say I do recognise the phenomenon you describe... Britmax (talk) 23:29, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Mea culpa! There was no intention to offend, but I take your point. You have my fullest apologies. Alansplodge (talk) 23:45, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

February 3

A Ha Ha Ha Song of the 1970s

I don't remember any lyrics. I only remember that the song was popular in the late 1970s and it had four "sentences" of laughter:

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Hahahahaha

Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Hohohoho

Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee ....

Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee ....

Anyone still remember this stupid song? -- Toytoy (talk) 07:01, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

The Laughing Policeman. youtube --Viennese Waltz 07:11, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

BINGO! Thank you! Hahahahahahaha!!!!! -- Toytoy (talk) 09:37, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

And I think you'll find it's a lot older than that. Britmax (talk) 22:48, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

The most complex computer/video game of all time

Hi!

I would like to find (and try to play) the most complex computer/video game of all time. One need to be really really intelligent to play it and win. One lose because he is too stupid for the game, NOT because he is too slow. Something like really deep economic strategy game or maybe something from entirety different game genre. --Blacknight87 (talk) 12:20, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Link to discussion the last time this came up. From that discussion, one possible answer seems to be NetHack. --Viennese Waltz 12:46, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Different question. Hardest <> most complex (or "smartest"). Super Mario Brothers game, for example, is really hard to win, but you don't need a big brain to play it (or brain at all). --Blacknight87 (talk) 13:05, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Whatever, Blacknight87. It would be hard to argue that NetHack is both difficult and complex. --Viennese Waltz 17:56, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

You might like I Wanna Be The Guy Gaiden, a video game virtually no-one (and I mean no-one) can complete. Bonkers The Clown (Nonsensical Babble) 13:33, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Foldit ? StuRat (talk) 16:51, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Dwarf Fortress is supposed to be extremely difficult to learn, even more difficult to master, and impossible to win. --some jerk on the Internet (talk) 14:18, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

If you're interested in games with complex economies, Eve Online is worth checking out. They also encourage a certain amount of tricking/scamming other players, so being intelligent enough to be able to spot that sort of thing (or do it to others) is useful. If playing against the computer is more your thing, try some Paradox Interactive games like Europa Universalis III or Hearts of Iron III as they get quite involved and are well-made. Recury (talk) 20:01, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

I'll second Paradox Interactive as being highly complex games. The level of involvement is pretty intense. You generally have to dedicate a week or more to complete one session. Longer if you plan to sleep or use the restroom or interact with other humans. --Jayron32 04:51, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Legal Superbowl streaming

Will ESPN.com be streaming the Superbowl tonight? If not, who will legally be doing this? (I'm in the US)

If you're wondering, I don't much care for sports but know the basics of the major US games. I like watching the big games but don't much care for the day to day detail of any sports. So, I never know where to go when I want to watch some big match. Dismas|^(talk) 21:15, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

If you go to nfl.com, there is a link to watch the game. I don't know what the requirements are, I didn't try it. RudolfRed (talk) 23:46, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. Got it on CBS.com on a recommendation from a coworker. Dismas|^(talk) 01:26, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Japanese movie about a man moving back to rural Osaka.

The movie is about the idiosyncrasies of the man's parents and the idiosyncrasies, of the rural life (in the Osaka area?). I think there is a wikipedia article. Anyone know?Curb Chain (talk) 22:53, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Well, we have a list of Japanese films in Category:Japanese films, but it is quite long. Do you have any more details; actors, director, year, genre, or even a more detail plot information etc? Astronaut (talk) 16:30, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Tokyo Monogatari?

No, this movie is about one man going back home I believe. I also believe it is very likely in color.Curb Chain (talk) 12:37, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

February 4

dennis Johnson

The basketball players page says he got arrested after he died....odd — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.87.67.240 (talk) 17:36, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

The appropriate place to discuss the matter would be at that article's talk page. μηδείς (talk) 18:05, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

No, it doesn't. It says he was arrested in 1997. It says he died in 2007. That's ten years earlier than he died. --Jayron32 19:47, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

Based on your confused edit [4] which broke an external link in a reference, I will make a wild guess that you are thinking of the text "Retrieved February 24, 2007" (two days after his death) in the reference you broke. That's the date a Wikipedia editor examined the reference for use in the article. It doesn't say anything about when the event in the reference took place. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:17, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

"The appropriate place to discuss the matter would be at that article's talk page". -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:41, 4 February 2013 (UTC)

That would be appropriate if there was actually reason to discuss a change to the article, but there isn't. I was just trying to clear up the poster's confusion. Do you really think I should start an article talk page section to say "Somebody said something wrong about this article at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Entertainment, and here is what I guess they were thinking of"? I'm addressing the poster, not the editors of the article. PrimeHunter (talk) 00:01, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Resolved

February 5

Pawn Stars - experts

I happened to see the first episode of Pawn Stars again today. I've seen almost all of the episodes. In the first episode Rick says "Normally I like to talk to the expert one-on-one, but today I made an exception." However, in subsequent episodes, the expert is almost always on with the person that comes in the store. The exceptions are when the expert is not available or the client is in a rush and can't wait. Why the discrepancy? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:34, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

I haven't seen the show but Rick apparently works in a real pawn shop which sometimes consults experts. You say it was the first episode so I guess he was referring to his work before the tv show. If he wants to haggle a good price then he may want to control what the customer hears. It was probably deemed more viewer-friendly for the show if the expert and customer are shown together and maybe talking together. Don't expect reality television to portray reality. PrimeHunter (talk) 01:04, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

TrekNation

Hi there,

I've currently nominated a few Good Articles, and a question has come up over the referencing of Code of Honor (Star Trek: The Next Generation). The reviewer has questioned whether TrekNation and also "Jammer's Reviews" (which is hosted by TrekNation). TN has previously been used in the Featured Article These Are the Voyages..., and was directly mentioned in the nomination paragraph for that article with it being described as "TrekNation is a long-standing website owned by UGO Networks and the Hearst Corporation".

Jammer's Reviews has not been used in any GAs previously (my initial Star Trek related articles did not include it as I was concerned that it was simply a fan site). However upon investigation, I discovered that the opinions of the writer and editor of the site was held in such esteem by the Star Trek: Voyager crew that they flew him out to Los Angeles to pitch story ideas to them at one point. Admittedly they didn't use any of his ideas, but they cared about his opinions enough to do that, and so I think that he can be considered a reliable source due to that context (in this case, he went back afterwards and reviewed each episode of The Next Generation after the series ended - I believe he started with Voyager).

Would it be possible to get some opinions on whether or not you think these would meet the criteria to be considered reliable? Thanks. Miyagawa (talk) 10:14, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

You would probably be better off at the Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 13:46, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

I'll move the discussion over to there. Miyagawa (talk) 14:52, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Why is so much Swedish pop and rock in English?

This goes back to the days of ABBA but even new Swedish pop music in English. What's up with this?--67.85.176.244 (talk) 16:30, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Love it or hate it, but English is one of the most widespread languages on the planet. If a band is fine with regional success, they sing in their native tongue. But if a performer wants a shot at worldwide stardom, they will need to sing in English. Many artists, such as Shakira, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez, have released songs in both English and their native languages. I would think a Swedish band would be no different. --McDoobAU93 16:39, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

FYI, Jennifer Lopez is from New York. Her native language is English. D Monack (talk) 01:02, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Agreed, although there are other languages with vast numbers of speakers, such as Spanish. StuRat (talk) 16:53, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Yep, but that wouldn't have helped to crack the Australian market. Everyone knows that, if you haven't made it in Australia, you've hardly scratched the surface of international success, not even if you've made it in old New York, or gay Paree or even London town. ABBA certainly knew this. They didn't even have to mention Australia in the title of ABBA: The Movie, that was just taken for granted, obviously. To this day, I still wonder why they didn't migrate here, become Australian citizens, and become our joint Prime Minister. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:32, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Apparently they did sing in Spanish: Oro: Grandes Éxitos. StuRat (talk) 21:08, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

...and also in French, German, Japanese.... and Swedish. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:57, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I found it interesting that ABBA sang English with American accents but when interviewed in English had Swedish accents. --TrogWoolley (talk) 16:19, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Well, with songs, they could take their time with a voice coach and learn how to pronounce each word. In an interview, there's no opportunity to do that. StuRat (talk) 16:29, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Did ABBA in fact sing with an "American" accent? Is that documented? I find it generally quite hard to distinguish between a Gen Am and a RP accent in songs unless perhaps for example in Pink Floyd's spoken, rather than sung, lyrics like where they mention the Bahth and the Pahth on Dark Side of the Moon. μηδείς (talk) 18:18, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Accents most definitely show up in singing; the fact that some British singers sometimes sing with what sounds like an American accent (and visa versa, c.f. Billy Joe Armstrong or Bruce Springsteen in his recent single "Death to My Hometown" which takes a Celtic twist, even in his singing) doesn't mean they are indistinguishable. It's been a trend in British popular music over time that has changed: In the early days of Rock music, many British acts were working in musical forms from America: R&B and the Blues formed the core inspiration for much of the early British rock scene, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who, etc. When performing such music, there was a tendency to sing with an American accent, which fit in with singing a distinctly American style of music. You can see the difference particularly in music by, say, The Who, compare Happy Jack, a song which comes from a British musical theater tradition, to I Can't Explain which has distinct elements from American forms (call-and-response Blues, etc.). You can definitely hear the difference in accent. It should also be noted that, over time, British singers have, more and more, begun to sing in their own vernacular. A big part of the Punk and New Wave movements in Britain were to abandon the American accent in the vocals (John Lydon and Joe Strummer both obviously sing in their speaking accent). The recent Blue Eyed Soul revival in British music (Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Adele) and British hip hop (M.I.A. show this as well. Compare their singing to Dusty Springfield and you can hear the British accent come through much more prominently in the more modern singers than in the earlier singers, though all of them seem to be able to switch between British and American accents from song to song, and they use the American accent much more prominently than singers which are known for singing other styles of music, for example the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner and The Libertines Carl Barat sing in distinctly British accents, but again they come from a British Punk tradition. This article does a good job of breaking down singing accents. --Jayron32 19:21, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

See Rock 'n' roll best sung in American accents. Alansplodge (talk) 20:05, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I take a little issue with how he draws his conclusions in that article. He does note the existence of the phenomenon, but I don't see how he connects the dots between "Most pop music is sung in American accents" to "It is done that way because it's physically easier to sing that way". As I noted above, Robert Plant sings like American blues singers because he's singing American Blues. George Formby didn't find it particularly hard to sing with a British accent. Bon Scott sung with a clear strine accent in many songs. The reason why people naturally drop into American accents when singing pop (read: Rock and derivatives) music is that's the expectation of the form. The article I cited above shows clear counter examples; even of American singers taking on British accents when singing to mimic British styles (Billy Joe miming The Buzzcocks for example). I don't think there's anything mechanically which makes singing pop-rock music in General American any easier, it's just what the form expects. I mean, Keith Urban sings in a Southern American accent (which is quite distinct from GA) because he sings Southern American music. Country singers from all over fall into that southern "Twang" because the form expects that accent, not because it's "easier" to do so. Why does Jim Croce, a native Philadelphian, adopt an English accent for Time in a Bottle if it's easier to sing in General American? It isn't easier to do so; Time in a Bottle is an English Madrigal, and the form contains the accent. He sings Bad Bad Leroy Brown in African American Vernacular English because it's an R&B song, and R&B is sung in African American Vernacular English. Sorry, don't like the conclusions there. Doesn't stand up to scrutiny. --Jayron32 20:19, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Well, here's the research. Enjoy. I hold no opinion (unusually). Alansplodge (talk) 20:33, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Well, I think this is one of those correlation vs. causation things, and the research itself doesn't support the stance in the popular article noted above. Skimming the introduction and abstracts, the research appears to say that 1) New Zealand singers use distinctly American vowels when singing pop music and 2) They don't do so deliberately or with the intent of mimicking the American accent. That's still a far leap to the conclusion that it's easier to sing in General American. Merely because they aren't conscious of their vowel choices doesn't mean that they are doing so because it is physically harder to maintain their native accent from a mechanical point of view (that is, singing in American is physically easier), the possibility that their subconsciously adopt the expectations of the form mandates the use of that accent. Is there any similar research on New Zealand singers that use New Zealand vowels, or on forms of music native to the New Zealand dialect? --Jayron32 21:01, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I agree. We sing pop music with an American accent because we're culturally "primed" to do so. Here's Alfie Boe singing "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables - he's English, and he's singing in English, but he keeps lapsing into a pseudo-Italian accent because he's trained as an operatic singer, and Italian is how operatic singers are primed to sing. It takes effort to overcome that conditioning, which is why the New Zealand subjects in the study struggled to sing in their own accents. I know that, for example, Belfast singer-songwriter Duke Special made a special effort to sing in his own accent, and in some of his early recordings, before he started calling himself Duke Special, he sounds like he's putting on a fake Belfast accent. It sounds natural now, but I've heard him do Ian Dury's "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" live, and he lapses into cod-cockney. --Nicknack009 (talk) 22:00, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

The fact that nearly 90% of Swedish people can speak English - see Languages of Sweden - is probably also a factor. Alansplodge (talk) 20:02, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Jim Croce English accent? He sings "there never seems to be enough time to do the things you wanna do..." and "I wanna spend..." as well as saying "/trɛʒər/, not /treʒə/ as Brits do. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyTfbtZeGeU. I think this is the same as people accusing me of having a British accent, because I enunciate and have conservative Philadelphia vowels. Without references, I find it hard to accept ABBA has a specifically American accent. They seem to have a general English pronunciation that perhaps predates the bath-trap split. There are certainly no diagnostic Americanisms in their singing of which I am aware. μηδείς (talk) 23:25, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

He sings in two different accents: Consider the way the song changes between the two opening verses, and the chorus. The style of singing changes drastically, and his accent with it. The verses are sung in the style of a traditional English folk song, the melody and melodic phrasing, like the way he bends the notes, are distinctly English, and his accent (his vowels and diphtongs especially) take on a subtly English character. When he gets to the chorus (the part you note), his singing style changes drastically, as he starts singing (the melody and the mannerisms in his singing) take on the style of American folk music (esp. 1960-1970s singer songwriter styling) and the accent changes to his more natural General American accent. The musical form determines the accent used. --Jayron32 02:58, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

There's nothing British about the way they pronounce "Dancing Queen". I'd go with Trans-Atlantic accent myself. Alansplodge (talk) 01:20, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

One of the most noticeable features of ABBA's songs, at least the earlier ones, is how they mistreat the English language - examples here. But it can be lovable - there's a moment I treasure in Agnetha's version of "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" (here) where she sings "jewelled..." as "yewelled". Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:13, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

By Yumpin' Yiminy! Well, they were probably doing the best they could. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:24, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

She says "jugoslayvia" at 2:34 in a youtube-linked interview: [5]. This thread actually taught me something. A young and spritely grade-school teacher once told our class that ABBA learned their songs phonetically and didn't actually speak English. – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 00:41, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

In my experience, you would be hard pressed to find a Scandinavian over 11 and under 70 that wasn't a reasonably fluent English speaker. Many speak it better than we do. Alansplodge (talk) 01:09, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Football refery

Hello

In my country not many people watch football. I have recently become interested in the play, but I see people in blue shirts on the field. My friend is saying these are the referys. Is it they who make the screaming sound from the field? And what are their job?

Two of them are on the side of the field. They hold on to a pole with yellow paper hanging on. Sometime they put in in the air. What does this mean?

Thanks, Jialin from China — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jialinzhen (talk • contribs) 16:51, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

It's spelled referee. Also, are you asking about American football or Association football (soccer) ? StuRat (talk) 16:55, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

It is Soccer.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jialinzhen (talk • contribs) 17:28, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Yes, that matches your description. See Referee (association football), and Assistant referee (association football) (also called linesman) for the two people with a flag on the side. There is only one referee inside the court. He makes the decisions and indicates it by blowing a whistle, maybe the screaming sound you mention. His clothing varies and is sometimes changed to not be similar to either team. The assistant referees wave a flag to signal what they see to the referee, mainly when the ball leaves the field or there is offside (association football). They cannot make decisions on their own but the referee usually follows their flagging. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:30, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you.. But what does it mean when he puts yellow card in the air? Everybody gets angry always when he does so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jialinzhen (talk • contribs) 17:44, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

When a player behaves bad he gets a red card. When the referee behaves bad he gets the whole team after him... Zaminamina (talk) 17:47, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

See Referee (association football)#Powers and duties. The referee holds up a yellow card to a player to indicate a caution for misconduct. Some players get angry over this. A second yellow card to the same player results in a red card, i.e. a send-off for the rest of the match (with no substitute player allowed to take his place). PrimeHunter (talk) 18:58, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Other than displaying yellow and red cards, the main job of the officials is to keep track of the remaining time in the half, and to keep it secret from the players. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:34, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, what? The "main job" of the officials is to keep the game flowing and ensure that the laws are upheld. That involves a lot more than "displaying yellow and red cards". As for keeping the remaining time secret from the players, that is not an issue at all - the players know full well how much time is remaining. How do the officials keep it a secret, in your view, by hiding their watches from the players? lolol. --Viennese Waltz 06:06, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

It's a snide attack on a football rule. Association football#Duration and tie-breaking methods says: "The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages." Unlike many other sports, for example American Football in Bugs' home country, this added time is not displayed on the public game clock, so the players don't know how much time has been added. This was alleviated some years ago by a rule in the linked article: "In matches where a fourth official is appointed, toward the end of the half the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time he intends to add. The fourth official then informs the players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number." The exact amount of remaining time is often critical to know for players and coaches in American football where you can frequently time an attack to score in the last seconds. See Hurry-up offense#Two-minute drill. In comparison, soccer has short attacks, frequent ball losses and few goals, so the remaining seconds would rarely influence tactics if the players knew. Furthermore, there is a practice that the referee doesn't end a half during a dangerous attack. With short attacks and no public game clock, he can just wait some seconds. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:49, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

What sign do the refs hold up to inform the crowd that the game is fixed? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:09, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

One that says "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", Baseball Bugs. --Dweller (talk) 16:06, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Major league baseball games stopped being fixed around 1920. When was the fixing of soccer matches stopped? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:24, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

If you believe that, you'll believe any answer I give you. --Dweller (talk) 16:36, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

. If you're going to assert that organized gambling is still fixing Baseball games something akin to a source would be nice. --Jayron32 18:46, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

My comment was about Baseball Bugs believing it isn't happening. The source was provided by Baseball Bug's previous post. --Dweller (talk) 09:42, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

"Isn't" happening is the key. 1920, last I checked, is not in the present tense. In contrast, the fixing of soccer matches qualifies as recent. And it's not about "believing" no MLB games are fixed, it's about there being no such claims and no such evidence. But if you've seen a credible source that alleges recent MLB game fixing, it would behoove you to provide a link to it, and eddycate the rest of us. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:51, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Baseball now uses the much more straightforward methods of simply letting the rich teams buy all the best players, and not doing drug tests during the season. APL (talk) 01:13, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

See also Fergie time. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 13:52, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

You might like to read our article Association football, which is available in Simple English and even Chinese. --Dweller (talk) 16:13, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

February 6

Canadian TV viewership

I was wondering if someone could help me locate the audience figures for a film that aired on HBO Canada last year. The Girl debuted on Saturday 20 October 2012 at 9pm. I have British and US ratings, but if possible I want to add the Canadian viewing figures to the article as well. Thanks in advance. Paul MacDermott (talk) 16:08, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Question about an American-football story

I recall reading a story that (allegedly) occurred during a (college?) American-football game, roughly as follows:

A team was about to kick the ball (for a conversion perhaps, or a field goal or something: I don't know). Its coach tried to send a couple of replacement players out onto the field to take the place of people there, but the players on the field sent them back. The coach tried again, and again the players sent the newcomers back. The referee fined the team a few yards for delaying the game, and then the replacement was made. It turned out later that the kicker had not been happy with the angle of the kick so close to the goal and had wanted to be farther.

Can anyone put a name and date on this story? Or, show that it's very unlikely true (e.g., the kicker could just walk back a few yards if he wanted; or, any time a team might want to kick, it's illegal to replace players)?—msh210℠ 23:18, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I can't say I've heard that one, but it could make sense, in the earlier years when the hash marks were farther apart, or maybe even non-existent. Unlikely to be on a point-after, as that's centered. But if the ball was spotted at the hash mark and with a narrow angle for a field goal attempt, they might have decided it was less risky to accept a 5-yard penalty than to try to hike the ball an extra 5 yards. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:30, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Without commenting directly on the veracity of the story, it seems implausible as the other team always has the option of declining the penalty. If a team took a deliberate delay-of-game penalty to get a more favorable angle, the opposing team has the option to decline the penalty and make them kick from the spot they were trying to get away from. You will sometimes see this with punts: A team will take a deliberate delay-of-game penalty to punt from farther back and decrease the chance of a touchback occurring, it rarely works as the receiving team just declines the delay-of-game and forces the team to punt from the same spot. --Jayron32 02:51, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Good point. Although, aren't there certain penalties that can't be declined? Although I can't think of any just now. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:21, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

There are a few loopholes that pop up, but these generally get closed as soon as someone tries to exploit them. Technically, you can still always decline the penalty, but they often happen where the assessment of the penalty occurs during a dead ball situation, and thus the following play is "blown dead" before it can happen. Just this past season (I think it was a bowl game) there was such an exploit. For safety reasons, in college football, having 12 men on the field is considered a "dead ball foul" and the officials will not allow the play to go forward. A team was down by two points, and attempting an end of game field goal. The defending team had no time outs, so deliberately ran 12 men on the field right before the kick to ice the kicker. The ball was snapped and the kick was good; except the play was blown dead because the 12 man penalty is a dead ball foul. Even if it was declined, the kick wouldn't have counted as the penalty was assessed before the snap. The kicker missed the second attempt. The two announcers were discussing whether or not the NCAA would look into changing the rule to prevent that sort of advantage. --Jayron32 04:04, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Here it is. It was the 2012 Belk Bowl. Cincinnati was the team that iced Dukes kicker by exploiting the illegal substitution penalty. This forum discusses it. It wasn't the end of the game, it was the last play before half time. --Jayron32 04:06, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

February 7

Sheldon Cooper's shirts

Why does Sheldon Cooper wear a long-sleeve T-shirt under his regular t-shirt? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:42, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

See fashion. --Jayron32 02:47, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't think that Sheldon is a slave to fashion. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 03:45, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

No, he follows a very specific fashion type: one that wears long sleeved T-shirts under graphic T's. It's a fairly common fashion for Generation X. I'm almost the same age as he is, and I wear the same basic fashion frequently; its a fairly ubiquitous fashion for many people of our age. Most of my peers, when dressing casually, dress the same way. --Jayron32 05:15, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Just to show examples: Here is a Google image search for "layered T shirts" which shows dozens of different examples of this. The fashion is so ubiquitous you can easily find "faux layered T shirts" which is a single piece garment with sleeves and collars sewn inside a graphic T shirt to give the illusion of layering. My kids have several of these, though I don't because I generally like the flexibility of deciding which colors to layer. --Jayron32 05:34, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm also of that generation, but wouldn't be caught dead in such clothes. My take on it was that they were showing how incredibly unfashionable he is, which makes sense, since he cares nothing for the social aspects of life (except for the warm beverage obligation, apparently). StuRat (talk) 05:36, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I think it depends a LOT on your social group (as does much fashion). There's lots of Gen-X fashion types, but Sheldon's isn't particularly unusual or unknown. Even if Stu doesn't dress that way, I do (again, when dressing casually. I don't dress that way to go to church or work) and have for 20 years. --Jayron32 05:38, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I believe Sheldon also wears them to work, which emphasizes his not understanding appropriate attire for a given situation.

Was this type of clothing part of the grunge movement ? Do you have to mess up your hair and give yourself bed head to go with it ? StuRat (talk) 05:43, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't believe it was particularly associated with grunge. Grunge's uniform was unbuttoned flannel button-down shirts over white T shirts and ripped jeans. I button down all of my shirts that require it when I wear them. I have a few flannel button downs, but I'd never wear them unbuttoned. I also throw jeans away when they get holes in them. Regarding my hair I keep my hair cut short and neat, not military short, but not really long enough to part either, and certainly not long enough to have "bed head". I comb it daily and keep it as tidy as it will go. I do have a bit of a natural cowlick in the front, which is why I keep it short, if I let it grow it's not possible to keep neat. I have short side burns which extend as far as the lower third of my ears which I keep neatly trimmed and well blended with my hair; this exact hair style I have kept for 20 years as well. I'm always careful to have well maintained, clean clothes as well. I don't wear dirty or unkempt clothes. I just wear a solid colored long sleeved T shirt under my short sleeved T shirts in the winter, because my arms get cold. --Jayron32 06:15, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

What's wrong with long sleeved shirts ? StuRat (talk) 06:25, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Nothing. Like I said, fashion. It's a style me and my peers were wearing when I was of an age when such things mattered in high school and college in the early and mid 1990s. As I've gotten older, like all people do, I've mostly retained the tastes that formed when I was younger. --Jayron32 06:28, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Since a picture's worth a thousand words, I dug up a 4 year old picture of me: [6]. It's not a great picture, since I'm about 50 pounds lighter today, and that one was taken after I had literally been up all night. But it does show the style I tend to wear in the winter. I've worn this same style of clothes and hair for 20 years or so. I don't dress this way to stand out; on the contrary this was pretty much the fashion when and where I went to high school and college. I don't think it's all that unusual. I know that Stu has never seen it before, and looks down on me for it. Such is his right. --Jayron32 06:41, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Congrats on losing 50 lbs, how'd you do it ? It kind of looks like you gave birth, what with a newborn baby, in a hospital, with an hospital bracelet, and no sign of a mother, but somehow that seems wrong. :-) StuRat (talk) 07:00, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I ate better food and I exercised more. Mostly cutting out sweets and chips and processed foods, replaced it with cheese and nuts and fruit. Also 4 days/week in the gym. The baby is my second son, 4 years old now. The hospital required both parents to get a bracelet, which has RFID tags in it that match the baby's RFID tagged bracelet as well. Its security: if someone other than a nurse/doctor or a properly tagged parent tried to go past a checkpoint without matching tags, alarms go off and doors lock. I believe my wife was off-frame napping when this picture was taken. She did the hard work. --Jayron32 07:06, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I lost about 40 lbs, by switching to sugarless (and sugar-substitute-less) herbal tea from fruit juices, etc., and also cutting out many processed foods, like pizza. I'm surprised you list cheese as a diet food, though. I prefer lean meat/foul/fish for protein, with nuts on occasion. StuRat (talk) 01:03, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Why is this question just about Sheldon? Wolowitz also dresses this way much of the time. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 06:42, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Good point. Howard is even more unfashionable than Sheldon, what with his skin-tight lime-green pants and such. StuRat (talk) 06:56, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Sheldon Cooper probably wears it because the actor portraying him, Jim Parsons, was instructed to dress that way. A possibility is that the real life person Cooper is based on dressed that way as well. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 13:29, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

His dress style is sufficiently well-known (per Jayron) not to raise too many eyebrows, but sufficiently odd for some viewers to act as an identifying feature of his persona. He is nothing if not a slave to routine, not to mention OCD-type behaviour. Dressing in a different way each episode would be contra-indicated. But that's no different from any character in any successful TV show. They find the one that works for the character, and stick to it. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:08, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Jack makes a very good point here by turning us back to the conventions of the sitcom. When trying to understand fiction, it helps to look more at how the fiction itself works, and not necessarily try to pretend as though it is real life. Sitcom characters often have a MUCH more limited wardrobe than anyone else, and that is deliberate on the part of the creators of the sitcom. When you have 22 minutes, you need to take shortcuts, and characters become characterized by their visual persona. Imagine Heathcliff Huxtable in anything except a "Cosby sweater". Imagine Ray Barone wearing anything except a plaid button-down shirt and khakis or jeans. It's the same with Sheldon and his shirts. No real person has a wardrobe that limited (well, except maybe Simon Cowell and his black T-shirt thing. But then again, I think he's mostly a fictional character too). The reason he always dresses that way is that he's a sitcom character, and that's what sitcoms do with their characters. --Jayron32 19:19, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

My wardrobe (the top half, at least) consists entirely of plain black t-shirts (not counting the formal wear I have to wear for interviews and such, but Sheldon's been shown to own those, too). I don't think I'm a fictional character. 90.193.232.199 (talk) 00:37, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

This is OR, but this fashion (long-sleeve shirt under short-sleeve shirt) was popular with a lot of kids in the mid-90s, possibly even earlier. I remember specifically people wearing this style. I liken it to what girls do, where they wear a longer colored shirt under a shorter black or white top to get a sort of "cummerbund" effect. I see it at malls all the time. I don't know what this is called and can't even find a picture of it. – Kerαunoςcopia^◁_galaxies 00:45, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

I thought you were going to say it's like girls who wear tights/legwarmers/etc., under a skirt. That at least makes some sense, as they can still look feminine without freezing. The Sheldon look doesn't seem to have any advantages, though. StuRat (talk) 00:57, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

releases vice versa

I'm trying to find a copy of the book Newsies by Harvey Fierstein. When I tried Amazon and Barnes & Noble, there weren't any. I'm also interested in finding out about a motion picture adaptation of Bombing Harvey. Who's behind it? And where's another good place to try and find a copy of Newsies, the book?142.255.103.121 (talk) 05:13, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Newsies isn't a book, it's a musical play whose spoken dialogue is written by Harvey Fierstein. The spoken parts in a musical are called "the book" in the parlance of the theater. It doesn't refer to an actual published novel, it's just jargon for "spoken dialogue in a musical". Book is just the English equivalent of Libretto, which is the Italian word for the same concept. I don't believe that Newsies has been published in a novel adaptation; the script itself for such musicals is generally only availible for purchase by theater companies which are going to be staging it. --Jayron32 05:20, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Alright. I'm still interested in finding out more about a motion picture adaptation of Bombing Harvey. That's a book about the Harvey's Resort Hotel bombing.142.255.103.121 (talk) 08:56, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Is there something that you know which indicates that there is a motion picture adaptation? The Wikipedia article about the event doesn't mention a movie, and there is no movie of that title listed at imdb. RNealK (talk) 22:45, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

It's listed as "in development" in a few places, though some references go back to 2006. In development hell, I imagine. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 23:10, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Well, I read the book, which was published in 2010. In one area, there's an indication on a soon-to-be released motion picture about the bombing.142.255.103.121 (talk) 03:37, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

"Soon to be a major motion picture" is a common marketing ploy in the publishing industry, as this tells the casual browser who picks up the book that "the story is so good that Hollywood wants to turn it into a film". But it doesn't necessarily mean that you should rush to your local movie theater to buy a seat. Sometimes, the book's edition is a tie-in to an upcoming movie release, and in such a case the book's cover will often be similar to the movie poster. But in many cases, the line may simply mean that a possible film is somewhere in the development cycle, and it may not be more advanced than a movie studio having taken an option on the story (which they do for many more books than will ever make it to the screen). The movie project may be aborted at any time before release, so what looked promising in 2010 may have reached a dead end by 2013. Many famous books have taken years to adapt, with "On the Road" a famous recent example of a very drawn out process (see under "film adaptation" in that article). --Xuxl (talk) 12:35, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

XBox Controller Joysticks Transposed-- But Only On "Lego" Games

Here's one that has kind of stumped me. We have a newer (black) XBox 360 console with a 4Gb hard drive. We have about 25 games, including Lego Star Wars (Complete Saga), Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones (Original Adventures), and Lego Lord of the Rings. On each of these four games, but on NONE of our other games, the left joystick for the controller in the first position (but strangely, not on the controller in the 2nd position) controls the view/perspective, rather than the character motion. The motion is controlled by the right joystick (or it can also be controlled by the round "arrow" button directly under the left joystick). Also strangely (to me), this is only the case during actual game play. Other screens of the game (selection of "extras" or selection of freeplay characters) is controlled in the regular way, with the left joystick controlling the cursor.

I'm confident that embedded somewhere in the Lego game(s), there is a LH/RH setting that I have messed up (I *do* have a 2-year old) and that this is a relatively simple fix, but try as I might, I haven't been able to find it, even by Googling it.

Is anyone out there familiar enough with XBox 360, and with the Lego games in particular to help me fix this? Thanks! Kingsfold (Quack quack!) 18:53, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

February 8

tv

Why are the mostly cartoon being cancelled after 26 og 52 episodes? --109.232.72.49 (talk) 14:35, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

26 episodes is a standard length for a season of a show. So a show which completes one season would have 26 episodes; those that complete more seasons would have multiples of 26 (52, 78, etc.) For cartoons, the manner in which they are created probably lends itself towards completing a whole season at one stretch (one notable exception is South Park which is deliberately run more like a live-action show, working on each show the week prior to when it will air, this is to keep it current and topical). --Jayron32 15:12, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Copying 33rpm record to USB

I have tried to do this using a *ion turntable. It also has two wires ending up in a red plug and a white plug. Don't know what to plug them into. The record played but has no amplifier or speakers. The result is one side of the record recorded onto my computer track after track. Also it plays back very quietly. What am I doing wrongly please? Kittybrewster ☎ 16:34, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Firstly you will need to get an adaptor to allow you to plug the record player into your PC. The connectors on the record player are RCA connectors, also known as 'phono', and you probably have a 3.5mm socket on your PC marked something like 'Line In', or 'Mic' (or possibly a symbol depicting the same). It may also be coloured red. Therefore you will need a '2 phono to 3.5mm Stereo adaptor' (e.g. this - other electronics retailers are available). Plug the male (pointy) end into your PC and connect the record player to the other end.

Now you just need to fire up your recording software and hit record. It sounds like you already have this under control. However, if you find the recording level still too quiet, you may need a 'pre-amp' - like a guitar amplifier, this simply increases the signal between the record player and the PC. If you do need that, though, it might well be cheaper to send the record away and get someone else to do it. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 17:03, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Agreed. Note, however, that getting stereo instead of mono won't make it much louder, so you probably will need the amplifier. I bet you have a friend or relative with either an amp or a turntable which has one built in. (They are on shelves, gathering dust in homes around the world. I can see mine from here. :-) ) StuRat (talk) 01:22, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Cucumber Mike and StuRat: ION Audio makes "digital conversion" turntables. This kind of turntable connects to a computer via a USB cable and appears as a sound card to the computer. --Bavi H (talk) 01:32, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Here's a FAQ page from the ION Audio website that might help solve problems: Turntable and Cassette Player Frequently Asked Questions. If you're still having problems, perhaps you can state the exact model of your turntable, and we can search for more detailed information about it on the ION Audio website. --Bavi H (talk) 01:32, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

music used in video

Hello, it is i, and i'm making a podcast parrody of 1984 apple commercial about aliens. duringthis podcast, after the explosion, i'll go into a speach about aliens, in a documentary-esk style, talking as an alien journalist. i've found a video that uses music that i think would go perfect with it, but i'd like a version of the song without the thunder and rain sounds. the song can be found [7] if you can't find out the name of that song, are there songs similar to this that i can use? if so, what are their names? Alien Arceus 16:43, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Sounds like New Age music, to me. Is that the pan flute ? Of course, if you want stereotypical eerie alien music, you need a theremin. StuRat (talk) 01:10, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Wow! i'll look into this! thanks! YAHOO, woopee! (makes other mario noises and jumps away crazily, then falls) Alien Arceus 02:40, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Image description?

I am looking for an image that's on Wikipedia. Is it okay if I describe the image here?--68.186.238.19 (talk) 17:39, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Sure, give it a shot. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:22, 8 February 2013 (UTC)