::I would suggest reading the [[Old Testament]] to get some idea of your spiritual roots, because that is where you will find out about your belief system. Basically, the difference between Jews and Christians is that Jews believe [[Messiah]] is yet to come, Christians believe [[Jesus Christ]] was and is the promised Messiah, and that His forgiveness can be received now.
::I would suggest reading the [[Old Testament]] to get some idea of your spiritual roots, because that is where you will find out about your belief system. Basically, the difference between Jews and Christians is that Jews believe [[Messiah]] is yet to come, Christians believe [[Jesus Christ]] was and is the promised Messiah, and that His forgiveness can be received now.
::So, I would suggest gaining an understanding of these things, and verses such as Isaiah 53, because they relate more specifically to how god handles things in the afterlife. Also, Job believed that, after he died, he would see God face to face, another good OT cite for you to consider.[[Special:Contributions/209.244.187.155|209.244.187.155]] ([[User talk:209.244.187.155|talk]]) 16:05, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
::So, I would suggest gaining an understanding of these things, and verses such as Isaiah 53, because they relate more specifically to how God handles things in the afterlife. Also, Job believed that, after he died, he would see God face to face, another good OT cite for you to consider.[[Special:Contributions/209.244.187.155|209.244.187.155]] ([[User talk:209.244.187.155|talk]]) 16:05, 26 March 2009 (UTC)
== Film question ==
== Film question ==
Revisionasof16:07,26March2009
Welcome to the entertainment section of the Wikipedia reference desk.
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.
I've got a quick question on Blu-Ray discs. Basically, I have a PS3 and of course, it plays Blu Ray discs, but it is connected to a standard definition television. If I were to play a Blu Ray movie, would it display on the SDTV? Obviously, the quality won't be HD, but there's some videos I'm interested in that are only available on Blu-Ray. I would think that it would display, as the games are written on Blu-Ray discs, but I wanted to double check before I go buying anything. Thanks. Cheers, DoomsDay02:55, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
It will display in Standard Definition. The data itself isn't any different, it just contains additional data to improve the resolution. The TV can only display its maximum resolution. (Note: This is true regardless of whether it's a PS3 or any other Blu Ray player).Brewfangrb (talk) 06:57, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed. One advantage to the Blu-Ray might be that you can zoom in farther without losing resolution, if your player supports this feature. StuRat (talk) 07:10, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
From experience... Use a PS3 connected to an analog television using the PS3's RCA video cable. Play a DVD move and then play a Blu-Ray movie. The main difference is in motion. Until you watch a Blu-Ray, you won't notice that fast motion on a DVD is blurry. Fast motion on the Blu-Ray is clear. I've found that cartoons are good to make it easier to see. I used Cars, which I have on both DVD and Blu-Ray. On the DVD, the car's mouths get blurry when they are talking. On the Blu-Ray, they don't get blurry. So, the end result is a slightly better picture using Blu-Ray. -- kainaw™20:50, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
New Zealand Islands
Australia has Triple J Hottest 100 Vol. x. Does South Island (New Zealand) or North Island (New Zealand) have any sort of compilation cds?96.53.149.117 (talk) 09:57, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Digimon Chronicle Spirit X Evolution???
In the article on Wada Kōji, it mentions he sang an opening, two evolution songs, and an ending for something called "Digimon Chronicle Spirit X Evolution". Is this a video game, a new Digimon anime, vandalism to the wiki, or something else entirely? I know for a fact that at least some of the songs are real. 163.41.144.196 (talk) 15:54, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Battlestar Galactica Music
What is the really-important music that Hera randomly wrote down in the last few episodes? I really like the music and i am wondering if i can download it. Any help is appreciated. I AM NOT A CYLON! ;) BufferedInputOutput16:01, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Since its a cover, I'm going to go ahead and say yes. I'll modify this statement once I can give it a listen. Another good (and most popular) cover of this song is by Jimi Hendrix, I would highly recommend it. Livewireo (talk) 19:39, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Near the end of "So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish," Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and Fenchurch left an Earth that had witnessed space aliens landing in Britain. In "Mostly Harmless," Tricia McMillan could not show her Rupert tapes because they'd think she was nuts. What gives? 69.203.78.244 (talk) 22:54, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy series has many inconsistencies. The author claimed to be proud of them. APL (talk) 23:00, 20 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Inconsistencies in H2G2? Never! Tricia came from a timeline where she didn't leave the earth with a (disguised) Zaphod and an earth that had not been exploded to make the bypass (though we all realize that's merely an excuse). Since that earth hadn't been exploded, it couldn't have witnessed the Vogon attack and (logically) also could not have been visited by the robots since that only occurred after Ford left the doomed earth. Since the alternate earth wasn't exploded, there was no way/reason for Ford to ever leave and therefore no reason for him to return in the ships filled with robots and lizards. Therefore, the guys from Rupert would be the first "known" alien visitors. Simple! Or, if you don't like that, you could just say that the psychiatrists had no reason to blow up the world since that universe's Zaphod wouldn't have had the calming influence of Trillian and could conceivably have run up an infinitely high psychiatrist's bill, keeping them in the green even with the ultimate question firmly known. Matt Deres (talk) 02:02, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
March 21
The Godfather Part lll
AMC TV will be showing The Godfather marathon on March 21-22. I would like to see The Godfather Part lll included in The Godfather marathon. When will The Godfather Part lll be shown on cable TV networks (AMC TV). Thanks, Brenda —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.95.227.142 (talk) 00:29, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
When was a last symphony of Beethoven played?
This could be organized by anyone. since Beethoven died many years back. and where was it organized? How many visited? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.92.59.242 (talk) 08:58, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure that I really understand your question. Are you asking when was the most recent performance of any of Beethoven's symphonies? That will be hard to answer, since they are being performed all over the world, all the time. If you could narrow it down by country, say, or by specifying just professional orchestras, it would be easier to find an answer. --Richardrjtalk email10:41, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that, Cooky – I'd never heard of that theatre. Unlike the Viennese to be so culturally barbaric as to demolish a perfectly good theatre. --Richardrjtalk email11:43, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Sir/Miss
I'm quiet sorry that I am posting this in the questions section but i couldn't find any other place to talk about this so I decided to use the "questions section".
Now regarding the problems I feel with the article of "Ryu (Street Fighter)" is that some information is not added. I am a street fighter fan but I believe I say this from an un-biased point of veiw when i say that regarding Ryu's information it MUST be added that "Ryu is the basis/foundation of most arm-to-arm combat characters in games or movie's of the modern era". Lets face the fact, Ryu is one of the most simple lead character one will find. He is from a an old manga and anime and many characters. Tekken and DBZ e.g have adopted some of his style, Lets not forget Street Fighter II on Sega and the Arcade's as being one of the most Successfull selling games ever. I believe in bringing some change it will not bring harm of critisism as Ryu is ranked one of the most friendlies characters ever, and also for a fact that ryu is INDEED the basis on which most modern characters are created.
I know that wikipedia has a very small staff recruited and the amount of people joined must mean you must have skipped alot of E-mails brought in the wrong section (this for example). And I know that there is a slim chance this mail will be read, but if it is read by someone I please request that some thought is given to the matter brought forth. I thank you for taking out your time to read this and will be extremely pleased to see the changes I have suggested to make.
If you have concerns or suggestions about a specific Wikipedia article, you should bring them up on the article's talk page. The talk page for the article Ryu (Street Fighter) can be found at Talk:Ryu (Street Fighter). - EronTalk19:41, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Also, I challenge you to give the citation that sources the claim that Ryu is ranked as one of the most friendliest [sic?] characters ever. Do you have a survey you could reference?68.148.145.190 (talk) 04:08, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Also your claim that "Ryu is the basis/foundation of most arm-to-arm combat characters in games or movie's of the modern era" will probably not be accepted.91.111.81.144 (talk) 21:12, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Also, one fact is that Dragonball started in 1984, and Street Fighter came out in 1987. And it's cited in our article on Ryu that his fighting style is based on karate, judo, and taekwondo, three very popular fighting styles. You can't possibly get any sources that characters following Ryu that use those fighting styles are created because of Ryu. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 05:48, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
HD Coverage
Hello! I've noticed for a long time now—most recently, the in-progress NIT tournament—that HD channels which only have the game in SD despite the arena having all the HD equipment necessary for HD broadcast. That is, I have previously watched games in HD from the same basketball arenas earlier in the season on ESPNHD, but for the NIT, they are only broadcast in SD. What accounts for this? Does it cost extra to broadcast in HD or something? Thanks!--elAprel (facta-facienda) 20:19, 21 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The arena doesn't have the HD equipment, the network does; and there is a limited amount of HD equipment to set up at various venues. If ESPN has their HD equipment committed elsewhere, then they will just shoot the game in standard definition. The NIT is a pretty "low-on-the-priority-list" event; my guess is that ESPN is using their HD equipment for the Woman's NCAA tournament, or perhaps the World Baseball Classic or any of its numerous NBA broadcasts instead. --Jayron32.talk.contribs02:05, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
March 22
"Neutral zone marks" in basketball
The little 8" x 12" rectangles sticking out of the key on the low post are called "neutral zone marks." What exactly is the point of them? I know they serve to demarcate the front of the area where defenders can stand on free throw attempts, but why a rectangle and not a simple line like the other marks on the key? -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:40, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Just added the above pics so people can know what you are talking about. I'm about to dig up the rule book to see why the closest hashmark is "fatter", as can clearly be seen in these pics. --Jayron32.talk.contribs03:09, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Near as I can tell, it is related to how players must organize at a free-throw. According to the rulebooks I have looked at, the rule is that on a free-throw, the defending team (i.e. the team NOT shooting) MUST have two players on the basket-side of the fat marks, and the offense MAY not place players here. [4] has some stuff on it; search for the word "neutral" (its a LONG page). The other 4 "slots" around the key may be filled by offensive or defensive players. It is the ONLY coherant reference I can find to the use of those marks. The NBA rulebook, [5] mentions there existance, but does not give their purpose. --Jayron32.talk.contribs03:25, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
After looking through a few more sites, several like this MS Word document: [6] indicate that it is fatter merely to increase the seperation of the players at that point. The only references I can find to it say something like that players may not cross the vertical plane of the outside edge of the hashmarks and neutral zone marks. Given that rule reference, the only compelling reason to make that one mark fatter seems to be to increase the seperation between players on opposite sides of that fat line compared to the other lines. Though, from a pratical purpose, I'm not sure the extra 10 inches makes that much of a difference. But there it is... --Jayron32.talk.contribs03:32, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I think I found the answer. I just looked at a clip of an NCAA basketball game from 1965 on TV4U.com. Nowadays, in college ball, everyone stands behind the neutral zone marks. But in the old days, the closest defenders stood in front of the neutral zone marks. Apparently, they wanted the defenders and the offensive players to be at least a foot away from each other. My guess is when they moved everyone back a notch, they didn't change the floor markings. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:48, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Looking for a French music video
I'm looking for a French music video in which they use various vinyl album covers to play out various scenes in the video. For example, there are often album covers displaying a face, being held over the face of an actor in the video. I don't know the name of the song or the band, only that the song is entirely in French and that the band is composed of two men. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.25.108.130 (talk) 05:11, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Sure you can. Your best bet for that is to head over to GameFAQs' Black section for the PS2. If you have the Xbox version, you appear to be out of luck, since there are no cheats listed for that version. (Generally, if GameFAQs doesn't list it, it's a fairly safe bet that it doesn't exist, at least if the game is even remotely popular.)
For future reference, including a heading for your question (which I did for you) and specifying the platform you have the game for is going to increase your chances of getting a meaningful answer. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 13:05, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Singing Idol contest in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, I know that CloseUp1 is a singing idol contest but it is the production of NTV Bangladesh. Is this true that there are more singing idol contests? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.64.52.14 (talk) 14:28, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
How do they calculate the rating for mountains in the Tour de France?
In the Tour, they divide clims into 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st category climbs and hors catégorie climbs. How do they combine the different elements (length, steepness, etc.) to give each climb its category? Thanks. Leptictidium (mt) 17:51, 22 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Musically speaking, when writing a song, what should make me decide in what key to write it? I know it changes the notes to use depending on the key and the number of flats or sharps but what difference does it make, aside from that, if I write it in D major or A major or Gb major or anything. I do know that the mood of the song is affected depending if the song is in a minor or major key or using some mode but lets consider I'm asking only about major keys. Thanks for the help in advance! PabloClark (talk) 03:05, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Since modern instruments are usually are tuned to just intonation, which has perfect ratios between notes, it makes no difference musically which key you choose. Generally, keys are chosen to suit the singer or instrumentalist in terms of ease of play, for example some instruments have natural keys they play better in, like guitar which is easier to play in certain keys (AKA the CAGED system). Assuming, however, a song written for voice and piano, there is almost no musical reason to choose one key over another, since the keys are perfectly transposable in just intonation, and only someone with perfect pitch will be able to pick out a semitone difference in keys, such as A major vs. Gb major. Under older tuning systems, like meantone temperament, keys were NOT transposable, since the spacing of the notes was not in perfect ratios. This meant that a piece written in one "key" had a different feel than another, since there was a unique spacing of notes for each key. Under equal temperament systems like just intonation, every key features the same ratio between its notes, so the piece "feels" the same in any key. There may be a reason you want a song to be "lower" or "higher", but mostly it will come down to making the piece easy to play for your singers and instrumentalists. In terms of major vs. minor keys, that WILL have a big effect on the feel of the piece, since those keys DO have difference between the spacing of the notes, but since you stated you wanted to choose a major key, there should not be much of a difference. Find a key that works for your instrumentation and singer, and go with it. --Jayron32.talk.contribs04:06, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Just to clarify, just intonation (JI) is not a form of equal temperament (ET). And modern instruments are tuned to ET not JI. JI does involve "perfect ratios" between pitches (a "rational" system), but this inevitably results in a wide variety of differing pitch interval sizes that often do not "add up" to one another. In ET the pitch difference between each note is identical ("equal"), so no matter how you "add up" pitch intervals you always end up on one of the 12 notes per octave. But the interval between any one note and another is irrational, mathematically speaking. For example a standard "half step", or semitone, in JI is a pitch interval of 16/15, or 1.06666.... In other words given a pitch like, say, 440 hertz, one JI semitone higher would be 440 * (16/15) = 469.3333... hz. In ET there are twelve equally spaced semitones per octave (an octave being 2/1), so the pitch difference is the twelfth root of two, or approximately 1.05946309435929 (the number is irrational). And yes, this does mean that 12 consecutive JI semitones span more than an octave. Anyway, this is beyond the OP's question. I just wanted to point out the difference between the two systems. Art meets math. In I think the pages on JI and ET explain this fairly well. Otherwise, Jayron is quite right! Key doesn't much matter in ET, except for ease of playing on one instrument or another, or ease of singing for a particular person. Pfly (talk) 07:12, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, I got my terms a bit confused. But my point was that using modern tunings (equal temperament was what I probably should have gone with), there is no difference sonicly between two different keys. Thanks for correcting my errors. --Jayron32.talk.contribs16:57, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yea, I can't help but reply on this topic! And the WP pages are not all that easy to read, I now see. Anyway, any excuse to talk about tuning math. :-) Pfly (talk) 19:31, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Late thoughts. All the above might suggest that composers might choose a key they're happy with and only ever compose in that key. For example, a composer in the classical tradition might write 10 symphonies, all in C major. But in general, they don't do that. Many of the composers of the 19th-20th centuries, long after ET came into use, had quite definite ideas about what each of the keys "meant". F minor, for example, was often chosen to represent doom, fate etc, when such a piece would sound much the same to anyone who didn't have perfect pitch if written on any other minor key. Many of them were also synaesthetes, and different keys were strongly associated with different colours, although the colours varied from person to person. -- JackofOz (talk) 05:17, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Old Computer Game
I remember playing this computer game a few years ago. All I remember about the game was that it was related to Number Munchers, it took place in high school called Shady Hawkins, it had a world called "the Great Gobble Desert" and that the opening sequence showed the number muncher solving a math problem, which asked how long it would take for a person traveling a certain speed to get to his destination, before he (the Muncher) gets abducted. I was wondering if anyone knew the name. Thanks in advance.
The Sex Pistols song "Bodies" has a chorus sung from the point of view of an aborted fetus talking to its mother. It probably doesn't get much better (or worse, depending on your POV) than that. --Jayron32.talk.contribs16:53, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Master of Puppets (song) is also written from the point of view of a drug (At least, the first, fast part is ("You're dedicated to how I'm killing you"). The second part ("Master, Master. Where're the dreams that I've been after?") isn't) --Evan¤Seeds01:16, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
In the same vein as "Bodies", The Decemberists' "Leslie Anne Levine" is from the point of view of a prematurely born child (or rather, her ghost) who apparently killed her mother in the same unfortunate event. Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" is from the point of view of the music industry. (Our article claims that it's a music industry executive, but honestly, that's kind of missing the point.) The next track, "Have a Cigar", follows in the same vein. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 10:07, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Led Zeppelin (Chicago, IL April 4th)
I hear there is a concert on the 4th of April in Chicago with Led Zeppelin.... which members are going to be there; or is this a fake rumor.
I've done SEVERAL searches on Google News, and found no information on a Led Zeppelin concert next week in Chicago. The band does not appear to have ANY tour plans in the immediate future, so this is likely either a false report, or you were confused between the actual Led Zeppelin and one of their hundreds of tribute bands that are out there. Maybe it was Dread Zeppelin you heard about? --Jayron32.talk.contribs16:58, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Here you go...April 4th is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Jimmy Page is listed as a presenter, and these yearly ceremonies always involve some live performances. However, the hall is in Cleveland, Ohio, so I would probably rule out any Chicago activities. read about it here:[7] cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 17:27, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
U.S. failure in the World Baseball Classic
The United States has once again failed to win the World Baseball Classic. This is a surprise to me as in the UK people generally have the idea that baseball is only played in the United States (which is not true I know). However the U.S. has the largest league, the most amateur and professional players, and the highest population of the countries where baseball is popular. So why doesn't it dominate the competition? Possible reasons:
The best Americans don't play (I can only name one current player, so I can't easily check this myself).
American baseball players aren't actually the best in any case: for some reason, despite its scale and wealth the American baseball system doesn't develop talent as well as that in some other countries.
The Americans don't feel as much pride in playing for their country as other players / aren't able to gel with unfamiliar teammates as quickly as their rivals / don't take the competition seriously / are the only team whose motivation is not enhanced by the opportunity to bring the United States down a peg or two.
The tournament structure may be partly blame. Although 16 teams were in the tournament, 3 of the U.S.'s 8 games were against Venezuela (which certainly has national pride motivation versus the U.S.) Also, one game the U.S. lost was against Puerto Rico, a part of the U.S. I notice that Canada which is also has teams in Major League Baseball had zero wins. Rmhermen (talk) 18:23, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The U.S. roster certainly included some big name players. Although the U.S. "has once again failed to win", the sample size at only two events is rather small. I also notice that every team except Cuba has at least one player and often the majority of their players playing in MLB major or farm teams. Rmhermen (talk) 18:35, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Mostly the third reason. Americans don't take the World Baseball Classic seriously. Many Americans think the WBC is a pointless waste of time. The only thing that really matters to us are official Major League baseball games and winning the World Series. To a lot of Americans, the WBC is just a silly little exhibition series where our number one priority is that nobody gets injured for when the real games start.
Also, the American Major Leagues already employ the best baseball players in the world. If doesn't matter if you're Japanese or from the Dominican Republic, if you can play, we will pay you millions of dollars and make you rich if you come to our leagues. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 18:48, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That seems to me to encapsulate American attitudes: probably only an American could think that the fact that a player plays his "franchise" baseball in his (the American's) country makes that player's performances for his national team less significant. It's not an attitude I have ever heard expressed with regard to international footballers who play their club football/soccer in England. Mowsbury (talk) 21:26, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That attitude is not expressed for England necessarily, but it is for Europe in general - for example, David Beckham was a curiosity, playing in LA with a bunch of crappy players, and it makes more sense when he plays with the best in Europe. (I think European players have this attitude too, which is why they never seem to take the game seriously when they are playing an exhibition against a North American team.) Adam Bishop (talk) 21:31, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, we do, especially since some of the best Canadians were not allowed to, or chose not to, play. It was surprising that Canada lost to Italy, but otherwise everyone expected them to lose to Venezuela anyway. There was some excitement about the game against the US, which was better baseball than the Blue Jays usually play (and the Skydome had many more spectators than usual), but otherwise no one really cares. Another problem is the odd rules of the WBC - pitchers are allowed to throw only a certain number of pitches per game, for example, and there are some other rules that differ from the MLB standard. (This is in contrast to world hockey, where IIHF and NHL rules differ, but we take both very seriously!) Adam Bishop (talk) 21:21, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm in the US, and, while not a fan of professional sports, I think I would have at least heard about the WBC if it was considered important in the US. It obviously isn't. StuRat (talk) 21:58, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
As someone who follows sports and has followed the 2009 World Baseball Classic, I feel it is appropriate to comment.
Although the U.S. has the most recognized league, many players come from the / Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Japan, etc. Please see José Reyes (shortstop), Hanley Ramirez, Felix Hernandez, Bobby Abreu, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. / These players are considered as some of the best in Major League Baseball, and chose to play for their own national teams. / Many of the best players in the MLB are not american.
Thus, the U.S. lost to Venezuela (by the mercy rule) and then / to Japan, who has many good players from their league and the MLB.
Also, all 30 MLB teams have already started spring training, so, because / all the players on the U.S. national team are from the MLB, / they must be given permission by their own team to play for the U.S. / One example of this is Jeremy Guthrie, / who was asked by the Baltimore Orioles to return so he could get ready for the season.
I also am in the US and follow baseball very closely. It's only my opinion, but I and many of my baseball fan friends agree that the WBC is a waste of time. First of all, it is played during Spring Training for MLB. Regardless of where you are FROM, if you are part of a MLB team, there are many players who opted out of the WBC so they could focus on preparing for the upcoming MLB season. I realize that baseball is played very well and is popular in many parts of the world (predominantly Japan and Latin America). However, since many players at the top of their game in those areas still end up playing in MLB (for money or competition), many put the long MLB season ahead of a 2 week exhibition. Again, IMO, if people want world competition in baseball, they should state their case to the IOC.Brewfangrb (talk) 09:24, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
One of the problems is the huge length of MBL season. MLB begins with a two month pre-season, a grueling 162 game regular season, an All Star Game and 2 rounds of playoffs and the World Series. As it stands, the WBC overlaps with the MLB pre-season and many players would rather get ready for the regular season with their regular teams than play in exhibition games. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 13:36, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The other issue is that many of the players that play in MLB are not American. To help Brits with understanding this, you could say "why does Britain have one of the best football league competitions in the world, yet can't seem to win a World Cup?" DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:27, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
One other key point: the Americans are not really a team, but just a collection of players, some stars, some not. They play with a lack of cohesion that is very noticeable when compared to the Japanese or Koreans, whose players have played together many times in other competitions. Because individual match-ups are so prominent in baseball, people tend to forget that it's a team sport, but the team aspect comes through clearly in a competition like the World Baseball Classic where highly-cohesive teams like the Dutch and the Koreans outperform expectations, and collections of stars like the Americans, Dominicans (and to some extent) the Canadians, whose roster construction is aphazard and who have not had time to train together, disappoint. That said, the tournament's TV ratings were up compared to 2006 and there's hope that it will grow in popularity, especially if the Americans make it a national priority to win the thing for once. --Xuxl (talk) 15:23, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm curious: where, precisely, in the WBC did the "lack of cohesion" come into play? Baseball is almost exclusively a series of individual exercises, and what team collaborations exist (turning double plays, for example) are ingrained and ritualized behavior to the extent that I doubt the competitive advantage lies there. — Lomn20:59, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Double plays don't just happen; they need to be practiced, and the various infield members knowing one another well helps a lot. Same thing for a lot of other defensive plays, where, for example, an outfielder needs to know where his cutoff man will be, how the outfielder playing next to him will back him up, etc, etc. These are the sorts of things that practicing together help to establish. On offense, putting on plays like the hit and run, sacrifice bunt, stolen bases, etc also require teammates to know eachother well. Because the Americans had hardly ever played together, they were at a disadvantage in these phases of the game and played a very passive style. Roster construction was another critical matter: the US team was full of one-position players, which greatly reduced mangerial flexibility; as a result, the one versatile player they had, Mark DeRosa, had to be used in all sorts of critical situations in which he would not necessarily have been the best choice, and in another case catcher Brian McCann had to play the outfield. Another example: the US pitching staff had four starters and a bunch of short relievers - closers and set-up men - who could only pitch one inning. No long relievers, no swingmen. That's a big disadvantage in a tournament where strict pitch counts are in effect. None of these things by themselves are huge, but taken together, against top caliber opposition, it puts the US at a disadvantage in spite of the high level of talent on the team. --Xuxl (talk) 13:37, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Those aren't the examples I requested:
Double plays take practice, yes -- but they're largely similar. Did the US commit significantly more errors than other teams in the execution of double plays? If not, it's not an issue of team chemistry.
Knowing when to back up a player -- same thing. It's effectively set in stone. Did poor execution force significantly more errors, or did it not?
Hit-and-runs, etc, are generally signaled, not executed spontaneously. At that point, either the batter hits the ball or he does not. The baserunner need not "gel" nor anything else. Unless the team repeatedly missed signals (and who can say?), this is not evidence of lack of cohesion.
Roster construction is not a matter of team cohesion. Bad team assembly, perhaps, but no (reasonable) amount of practice will fix this. A team of all first basemen will perform badly whether they practice for a day or for a year.
Just to clarify for anyone else, the singer whose screaming the OP is looking to replicate is Daron Malakian. Can't personally think of a good suggestion for songs, though.~ mazcat|c19:33, 24 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I'm trying to get a handle on the number of non-professional films that are made every year -- of any length, in any genre (live action, animation, documentary, etc.)? An informed guess would help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bdrael (talk • contribs) 01:36, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Since nobody seems to have answers I'll try to break it down. What do you mean by film? Just on celluloid, or video? Is every time you turn your video camera (camera phone, etc) on a film, or when you edit it and put it together in a more formal way? Also, do you include CCTV footage? It's hard to find exact figures but it's claimed there are at least 17 million[9] surveillance cameras worldwide, many recording 365 days a year, so that's a lot of videos, 5 billion if you count each day as a recording, more if you subdivide further. But maybe you discount it, as most is deleted soon after recording.
You could divide it by surveillance camera, cine camera, video camera (tape or digital), digital camera with video recording, and camera phone with video recording. There are probably far more camera phones than any other recording devices (over one billion[10]; the camera phone article has some info), but it's hard to know how often they are used, and not all will record video. IDC and Gartner will sell you reports on cameraphone usage for a few thousand dollars, but I can't find any free information that will tell you how often people use cameraphones with video recording. If you know that you might be able to work out how many video recordings are made with cameraphones. If half of all cameraphones record video, and people use them on average 10 times a year (some will use very often but many will not use at all), that's 5 billion recordings. At a guess. So StuRat's estimate's probably not far off.
The number of videos shared online is only a small fraction of that; there are something like 100m videos on YouTube, though authoritative figures seem lacking[11][12] but many of them will be repostings of commercial video.--Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 15:21, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
What kind of musical instrument is a 'Charles'?
What kind of musical instrument would be called a 'Charles'? This term was used in a Spanish document describing the sound system, though I'm guessing the same name is used in English. It appeared in the middle of a list of drums, but I haven't been able to find any reference to a "Charles drum" or similar. Thanks. Rodney Boyd (talk) 03:32, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
In Spanish, el charles can refer to the hi-hat. I think it's derived from Charleston. In any event, the old "low-boy" or "low-hat" version used to be called "Charleston-Maschine" in German. And I just saw it is stll called la charleston in French and, occasionally, il charleston in Italian. ---Sluzzelintalk04:33, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Can anyone offer suggestions as to what song this describes:
What song is it, from a long time ago, like 20 years ago, that has one of the best saxophone accompaniments to vocals that I have ever heard? The saxophone is absolutely ecstatic. The song is very upbeat and positive. The words convey a positive, hopeful message, but I can't remember what it is. A logical assumption is that it is one guy giving advice on love to another guy, but that may just be in my imagination. It is also a very exotic song. It is riotously loud and cacophonous. I don't think it was a super big hit. I mean, I've heard it played a lot, but not at all in recent years, and I don't think it was like a mega blockbuster. I just remember that the vocals were great, and the saxophone was out of this world. The vocalist is male. It is a super happy song. It is the saxophone that I really want to hear again. It screeches at places in high pitch reaching for the heights of emotion. Bus stop (talk) 01:30, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I don't find anything like it by following those leads, on YouTube. It is not a nutty tune. It holds together quite well. It has the kind of "launch" that a song such as Hey Jude, by the Beatles has, by which I mean that it gets more ecstatic as the song goes on, becoming really wild towards the middle and end. But not nutty. Just exuberant. Thanks for those suggestions. I guess I can only describe it in highly subjective terms, because I don't know much about music. There is another song that reminds me of it, but a pale comparison of it, in my opinion. I don't know what that song is, either. When I occasionally hear that song I think momentarily that it is the one I am trying to think of now. Thanks for your help. This may be hopeless, with the sketchy details I am able to supply. Bus stop (talk) 02:46, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Please don't ge me wrong, in case it is "Baker Street": that's a fine enough solo (compare it to the one on "True" for a very misplaced solo), and it's not the soloist's fault that it overpopulated the ether and popularized the pop sax solo. ---Sluzzelintalk03:09, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
(Edit conflict) No it is definitely not "Think," the Aretha Franklin song. I know that song very well, and it is not that. And also no, it is definitely not Baker Street, by Gerry Rafferty. I know that song very well too. It is a much better song, of course in my opinion, than Baker Street, by Gerry Rafferty. It makes far less sense, as far as I can remember it, narrationally, than a song like Baker Street. Baker Street is wordy, by comparison. But yes, the music is great in Baker Street. Bus stop (talk) 03:13, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for that. That is great. It's going to take me awhile to listen to all of that, but this is great. I'm listening to Junior Walker's Shotgun right now. Definitely not it, but great song. Bus stop (talk) 03:36, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I can't seem to find it. None of those are it. The title of the Inxs' "Never Tear Us Apart" rang a bell. I was sure it was going to be it. I think there is a theme of something like that in the song: of friends forever, and, nothing will ever tear us apart -- that sort of thing. But the song that I found was definitely not it. I was using Beemp3.com. I'm going to go to sleep now. I'll be sure to post back if I have a lucid dream in which the title and artist is displayed, along with the year and the additional personnel. I think there's a line in it that says something like "you are a friend of mine." Seriously. That is what the theme of the song seems to be about. As a matter of fact I never understood what the song was about, even when I used to listen to it and enjoy it. I think it may be a fairly obscure song. I don't think it got an enormous amount of air play, and only during a few years. But there is something about confirming friendship in it. Some line shouts that again and again. Thanks for your help. Bus stop (talk) 04:19, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Just taking a shot here...your initial description sounds to me a bit like "Young Americans" by David Bowie. The lyrics aren't actually all that positive, but the song itself has an exuberant feel and a very prominent sax accompaniment. However, the last post you made makes this guess a bit more doubtful... AlexiusHoratius05:09, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No, that's not it. I just listened to it. Found it online. I was familiar with that song, though not super familiar. The song I'm thinking of I think has a black guy singing. I don't know why I say that, because I have never seen anything about it. But the guy just sounds black to me. If he turns out to be white, then I'll say he's a white guy who sounds black. One of the "meanings" that I got out of the song was one of racial harmony. I found the message especially positive. It could be completely in my imagination, but I found it very easy to understand it as a black guy talking to a white guy, saying, we are solid; nothing can come between us. Thanks for that suggestion. My clues are the weakest part of this discussion. The trouble is they never play it on top hits radio anymore. I don't think I've heard it in years. Bus stop (talk) 12:12, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No, it's not "Never Gonna Give You Up," by Rick Astley. He definitely sounds black. That's another great song. Thanks for the suggestion. Bus stop (talk) 12:59, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
That's it. Whoopie! "You're a Friend Of Mine," is the song! Oh yeah -- this is it: [13]. Thanks, everybody! I think this video at YouTube is too good too! Bus stop (talk) 13:51, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Film From The 80s or 90s.
Hi guys. I'm searching for what I believe to be a film from the 90s. Not exactly sure on many of the details. I just remember a game show for kids, where at the end this kid gets tarred and feathered in a little plastic bathing pool, and is utterly humiliated. May or not have been one of those situations where he did it to humiliate himself, to prove he was sorry for hurting someone. Sorry for being so vague. Is anybody able to steer me in the right direction? It's most likely a direct-to-video film from the 90s. Thanks! Caleb Osment (talk) 10:27, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
AFTER LIFE
This would be a really stupid question but, whatever there have been instances of people seeing the light when they die, is it actually true? some people say that, even after we die, there is a place where we go according to our deeds when we lived. is it true?
would my actions that i do now affect my afterlife??? pretty deep huh! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 6zo6dy6 (talk • contribs)
I don't think there's anyone here that could really answer this definitively for you, and the reference desk isn't a place for opinions, predictions, or debates...which is probably all this topic would lead to. You might be interested in the Afterlife article to see what different religions/cultures believe. --Onorem♠Dil12:37, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
For the first part, read the wiki article Near death experience. As for "there is a place where we go according to our deeds when we lived. is it true?", up to a point, yes there is. For instance, if you bought a burial plot while you were alive, then there's a good chance that's where you'll be buried. On the other hand, if while you're alive, you cause trouble for gangsters, then when you die, you might go to a place such as the foundations of a concrete overpass. Or you may end up sleeping with the fishes. --81.170.13.77 (talk) 12:44, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
(after ec) Well, the Christian faith tells us that if you were a good person on Earth, you might be eligible to pass the pearl gates of Heaven, and if you were bad, you might get the privilege to burn in hell until it freezes over. Most of the Middle Ages were shaped by the notion of memento mori, and that (to paraphrase and retranslate Terry Pratchett) the earthly life is somewhat of a tedious prelude to the main spectacle, through which one should get as quickly and elegantly as possible. Why not ask over at the humanities desk further? --Ouro (blah blah) 12:45, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
well im jewish. and according to us, anything that you do in this life, straight away makes your next life (not afterlife) worse. so i was just thinking, that if there is any afterlife or not. and if there is, how exactly do we reach it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 6zo6dy6 (talk • contribs) 13:00, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
"anything that you do in this life, straight away makes your next life ... worse" ? Not just bad things you do, but anything you do ? That's a strong argument to not do anything in life, isn't it ? StuRat (talk) 15:55, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Okay, if you are a Jew, you are at least spiritual cousin to Christians. The Christian faith is not about being good, it is about receiving forgiveness. because, we all do bad things.
I would suggest reading the Old Testament to get some idea of your spiritual roots, because that is where you will find out about your belief system. Basically, the difference between Jews and Christians is that Jews believe Messiah is yet to come, Christians believe Jesus Christ was and is the promised Messiah, and that His forgiveness can be received now.
So, I would suggest gaining an understanding of these things, and verses such as Isaiah 53, because they relate more specifically to how God handles things in the afterlife. Also, Job believed that, after he died, he would see God face to face, another good OT cite for you to consider.209.244.187.155 (talk) 16:05, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Film question
Hello, Refdeskers. I seek to find the name of a movie my girlfriend had described to me. It is supposed to be a part-comedy about a manned mission to Mars and the preparations leading up to it. It starts with a boy sitting in a washing machine watching the earth spin around. Then the boy grows up to be a specialist electrician or somesuch, and is picked as an expert to assist on the mission. He undergoes training (like in the centrifuge, and in isolation (there's supposed to be another fun scene with sock puppets here)). He's supposed to be a bit wacky. We don't know when the film was made, but definitely before 2002. An English-language film. No idea about any names whatsoever. If anybody has any ideas, we'll be grateful. Thanks and cheers! --Ouro (blah blah) 12:50, 26 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
