Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 August 15

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August 15

Cruella De Ville from the story and movie 101 Dalmations

What was Cruella De Ville's name before she became Cruella De Ville or Cruella De Vil? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.132.43.110 (talk • contribs)

See Cruella de Vil. She has multiple names (depending on the language), but no name before the one in the books. -- Kainaw^(what?) 03:09, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

In the book, she's married but her maiden name is also De Vil. She was the last of her line and made her weak willed husband change his name to hers.212.240.35.42 10:20, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Children's fiction detective character with a photographic memory?

I remember reading a book about some girl that had a photographic memory- she would blink or something to that effect to take 'mental pictures' she would use to solve cases, or something similar to that. Anyone know what it was? Eidetic memory's (incredibly unencyclopedic) list wasn't any help --Lucid 05:32, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Cam Jansen, "the girl with the amazing photographic memory" by David A. Adler. (Not to be confused with Cam Janssen) ---Sluzzelin talk 05:51, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! Lucid

"Q" Radio

Is there an article that explains the usage of "Q" in radio station names? Everywhere I've lived, there has been a station with Q in the name, such as Q102, Q98, Q100, and Q104. I assume there is a reason for it. -- Kainaw^(what?) 14:52, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

That is odd, because this article claims, "no official call signs use the QAA-QZZ block. These are reserved for international radiotelegraph "Q-signals." You don't say where you are from, the but official call sign prefixes in use in major countries are listed at ITU prefix. Rockpocket 18:15, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

The first Q-104 that popped up as I started typing a Google query is in Kansas City. The station's actual call sign is KBEQ. The next one is in Cleveland, its call sign is WQAL. I'd say it's as simple as capitalizing (no pun intended) on a portion of the assigned call letters. Just like in Scrabble, if you have a Q but no U, you can't spell very many words. (KROQ "K Rock" in Los Angeles notwithstanding.) --LarryMac | Talk 18:40, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

In Chicago, we have WKQX, known to most as Q101. If you have faith in Angelfire, the call letters were chosen because they sounded "experimental". Zagalejo 18:58, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

In Ontario, I can think of Q107, Jack, and Q97.5, which just have randomly assigned Qs in their names (in Canada radio stations start with CB, CF, CH, CI, CJ, or CK, with two other random letters). Adam Bishop 06:16, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Larry, are you referring to the use of letters for figures in telephone numbers, as indicated on telephones in the US? Four letters is usually not quite enough for that, but I can't figure out what else you might mean. Btw, KBEQ as in Quebec? Funny name for a Kansas radio station. DirkvdM 09:09, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

It's a little more complicated than that, Dirk. In some cases, radio station marketing types will attempt to make something out of their existing call letters like "KBER - The BEAR!!" (purely hypothetical example, probably a country music station though.) Or "WTOK - Talk Radio" (again hypothetical). After all the letter combinations that can be twisted into something/anything have been used up, you're left with a lot of seemingly random letter strings. I guess a question related to all this is "when did radio stations decide to 'name' themselves rather than just use their call letters?" Also, Kansas City is in Missouri . . . well, there is a KC in Kansas, but in general people mentioning KC on its own mean the one in MO :-) --LarryMac | Talk 15:24, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

What Dirk is missing is the fact that in North America it is an established custom that TV and radio stations use their call letters as their public name. For example, everyone who watches Buffalo TV stations would know that channel 2 is WGRZ (and that it was formerly WGR, if they're old enough), channel 4 is WIVB (formerly WBEN), 7 is WKBW, and so on. At one time this was practically universal, but there has been a drift away from it in recent decades, as people look for ways to make their station identity easier to remember. These "Q" names are just examples of that drift. --Anonymous, August 17, 2007, 01:36 (UTC).

I found references to an old (50's/60's) radio conglomerate called the "Super Q". They played rock and Motown. Many large cities had a "Super Q" station that was signified by beginning the frequency with the letter "Q" (ignoring the station's call letters). Super Q ended, but the popularity of using Q for rock stations continued and is now apparently used for classic rock stations that play rock from the late 60's through the 80's.

Also, KCKS is expanding and expanding. When I lived in KCMO, KCKS was factories and warehouses. Now it is an endless sea of cheap homes and strip malls. Of course, the farmland where I grew up is cheap houses and strip malls as well. -- Kainaw^(what?) 19:25, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Virginia Tech benefit

I saw on the Virginia Tech website there will be a benefit concert for the university. The purpose is to raise funds and to help the institute move forward from its massacre. The concert is bound to happen within a few weeks. Shouldn't somebody do an article for that type of thing?72.229.130.76 21:58, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

definition of the word "consarn"

I recently read an article in the New York Times about Gabby Hayes, the movie actor. The author of the article used the word "consarn" in the sense of "darn" or "darn it" or "doggone it". I somehow believe the word comes out of World War I and perhaps is derived from the French

My email address is <removed to protect you from spam> .—Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.146.159.115 (talk • contribs)

It was certainly around before WWI.

consarn:

• - damn, darn. "Consarn it!" From Whistlin' Dixie: A Dictionary of Southern Expressions, Robert Hendrickson (Pocket Books, New York, 1993).
• - confound. "Consarn you!" From A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincolnshire, Edward Peacock. ( English dialect society, 1877)
• - concern. "the inhabitants of the towne where he is not consarned to cleanse, will sweep up their mannor, his cart and horses shall carry it away." From Oaintburgh Manor Records, 1692.
• - concern. From Smoky Mountain Voices: A Lexicon of Southern Appalachian Speech Based on the Research of Horace Kephart, edited by Harold J. Farwell Jr., and J. Karl Nicholas (University Press of Kentucky, 1993). Rockpocket 23:44, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

It definitely predates WWI. Jabez Stone uses "Consarn it" frequently--very much in the meaning of "damn it"--in Stephen Vincent Benet's The Devil and Daniel Webster, which takes place around 1840 in New Hampshire. --mujerado (talk) 01:50, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Eric Keith Jackson

8/15/07 I recently tried to search your archives for Keith Jackson. A longtime musician hailing from Detroit. Professional career starting in 1979. He is a guitarist who has worked with The Busted Hearts (Bluegrass Music) Fundamental Records Chicago. And has recorded with Gilby Clarke(Guns and Roses). Although I found Jackson listed in the Gilby Clarke credits, I do not understand why he is not in your search engine. He is a famed music writer for many artists including the Glass Heroes (17 year standing signed group), the Beat Angles and Detroit early industirial group Shock Therapy who have contributed music to countless sound tracks and the like. He has also had acting roles in numerous independant films. I'm just suprised that he is not included here i nthe amazing Wikipedia. Finding information on him was as easy as typing Keith Jackson,punk in Google's Search field. But I write for the Phx Metropolitan Magazine, and was hoping to find a consolidated amount of information on him here!! all the best Kathrine Smith —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.38.122.225 (talk • contribs)

Be Bold! and create an article. DuncanHill 23:47, 15 August 2007 (UTC)