User talk:Ganymead/Archive 1 Jan-Oct 2005

'''N.B. I reconstructed some items I deleted from my talk page a while back so this archives extends from May 2004 to October 2005. *Exeunt* Ganymead 20:18, 22 October 2005 (UTC)'''

Welcome
Hello Ganymead, welcome to Wikipedia.

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Again, welcome! Chris Roy 00:31, 3 May 2004 (UTC)

Narwhal
Hi there, good to meet you. I noticed you have changed a few of the status designations for some of the dolphins (specifically Irrawaddy Dolphin and Narwhal)) from unknown to endangered. Our statuses have been taken from the Red List where both species (at least online) are listed as Data Deficient, which we translate to "unknown". Although you are likely right that both species are at least vulnerable and possibly endangered, it is our policy to defer to the decision to the IUCN rather than try to judge for ourselves. Where were you getting your data from? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 10:00, 15 May 2004 (UTC)

Geo-stubs
Hi Ganymead - I notice a couple of African geography stubs that you've added the geo-stub template to. Good... but there is a separate Africa-geo-stub which is probably a better one to use (a compete list of all the subcategories of geo-stub can be found at the top of Category:Geography stubs). keep up the good work! Grutness|hello? 07:27, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * Interesting idea about the South American stub... There are a few Chilean and Colombian geo-stubs, so it might be worth doing. Trouble is, there are already stub categories for Brazil and Argentina, so it's going to take a little bit of thinking out how things link together. Grutness|hello? [[Image:Grutness.jpg|25px|]] 23:53, 31 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * There is now SouthAm-geo-stub for South American geography items. "I only do requests when I'm asked to" ;) Grutness|hello? [[Image:Grutness.jpg|25px|]] 00:38, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Thank you!
Just a quick "thank you" for voting me for admin. Now all I've got to do is find out how to use these worrying new powers... Grutness|hello? 06:33, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Streetcar Named Desire, A (play)
Why did you move A Streetcar Named Desire to Streetcar Named Desire, A (play)? The latter name is entirely wrong for Wikipedia naming conventions. 1-We don't do ",A' or ",The" at the end of titles, and 2- we don't disambiguate with something like "(play)" unless we have to. RickK 06:00, Feb 23, 2005 (UTC)

Oh! Mr. Porter! VFD
Hi there--

Another user and I have done a rewrite of the Oh! Mr Porter! article in the hopes of making it worthy of keeping. I'm wondering if you'd take a look at the new article, and reconsider your vote to delete it. Thanks!

Best wishes, Jacobw 18:54, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Mmmmmmm, flattery
Mmmmmmm, flattery, delicious! Thanks very much, have a cookie! Have a petit four! Bishonen | Talk 20:12, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Theatre article
I initiated the proposed page split. Nobbie 17:15, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * First step: Moving article to "Theatre", second step, creating "Theatre (structure)" and moving the buidling section to "Theatre (structure)". There is now a dicussion + vote on the talk page. Please contribute. Nobbie 09:48, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Hi. The theatre move has been done. Now, what about the building section. Should it be moved? And the name of the new article? Theater (structure) or Theatre (structure)? Since the current spelling used in the section is theater and there already is an article Theater (warfare), maybe Theater (structure) would be the best choice. Otherwise lots of spellings would have to be changed which might annoy some people. Nobbie 02:12, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * I decided to be bold and moved the section. Have a look. Nobbie 08:38, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Peretz Hirshbein
Given that, to the best of my knowledge, Peretz Hirshbein never wrote a play in Russian, the removal of him from Category:Dramatists and playwrights to place him in Category:Russian dramatists and playwrights seems a bit odd: it moves him into a category where pretty much no one would ever look for him. Would you consider reversing this? And does this perhaps raise some questions about the way this part of the category hierarchy is organized (wouldn't language make a more appropriate classification higher up the hierarchy, with geography being subordinate to that)? -- Jmabel | Talk 07:25, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)
 * I don't do a lot of category work. Right now, I believe there are no categories under Category:Jewish film and theatre. Perhaps it would make sense to create a category Category:Yiddish-language dramatists and playwrights? But the thing is, so many of them were also lyricists (like Goldfaden), theater directors (like Hirshbein), etc., as well. Just moving them down the hierarchy into that category could be a bit misleading, unless we also start adding several other categories. -- Jmabel | Talk 07:43, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)
 * I really backed into the Yiddish theater thing. It was an intersection of two interests: (1) secular Jewish culture and (2) Romania. I was researching the State Jewish Theater in Bucharest (one of the few remaining sites for Yiddish theater, although these days they do more in Romanian), ran across a great book by Israil Bercovici on Yiddish theater in Romania, and discovered that the entire topic of Yiddish theater was barely covered. I've done a fairly good job down to about 1910; past there, it's very spotty.
 * Michael Snow pointed out to me that there is generally very little on those performing arts which do not produce artifacts. Thus, little on even virtuoso musicians before the advent of recording; little on stage performance that is not filmed; etc. -- Jmabel | Talk 09:00, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)

Quebec
If you are interested in more Quebec-related collaboration, there is a Quebec wikipedians notice board and a Quebec collaboration of the week. Circeus 19:18, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)

COTW Project
You voted for Decolonization, this week's Collaboration of the week. Please come and help it become a featured-standard article.

Where did it go?
Did you delete my articles on Emily Strange's four cats? I would like to know why. RescueHero
 * All of the articles for Emily's cats were marked as stubs and it did not appear that they could be expanded further. The imformation from the articles was merged into the article on Emily and the titles were redirected to the site on Emily. The general consensus is that characters in fictional works should not, except under certain circumstances, have separate articles (see WP:FICT). Indeed, I believe that combining the information on the cats into the article makes for a more informative article as a whole. I apologize that you took offense over my edits. I hope this is a good explanation for my actions. Please leave any response you may have to this on my talk page. Thanks! Ganymead 22:34, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

COTW Project
You voted for History of Quebec, this week's Collaboration of the week. Please come and help it become a featured-standard article.

Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation
Thanks for your interest and kind words. To be honest, most of what I have done is placeholder work; I've been waiting for historians and tribal members to pick up on it. Since it really isn't all that much, I would suggest contributing what you can to the article as it stands at the moment. If it gets to be too large, we can think of splitting it up later. --Alexwcovington (talk) 02:23, 3 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the help, I hope this won't be the last I hear from you! --Alexwcovington (talk) 07:59, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

COTW
Please note that the rules of voting for Collaboration of the Week candidates have changed. It is now allowed to vote for only three users on the list. I am not removing the votes you already gave, but any further votes will be removed if the rules are not followed. Any further discussion should take place on the Talk page of the project. Thanks. --Eleassar777 07:23, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

New LGBT noticeboard.
Hi, I've created a LGBT noticeboard for wikipedians to post issues and concerns. Please take a look. Thanks. -- Samuel Wantman 07:35, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

COTW Project
You voted for Culture of Ancient Rome, this week's Collaboration of the week. Please come and help it become a featured-standard article.

Tillie Blobbs Award
Heh heh, what a cute award, thanks very much! Outstanding! Bishonen | talk 18:28, 28 May 2005 (UTC)

Beckett plays
Hi Ganymead,

I've been noting your re-categorizing of play pages, and I was just wondering about the accuracy of calling some of those Beckett plays "Irish" plays. I mean, there's no questioning that they're plays written by an Irish playwright of course...however, many of his works were written in French at first, and are usually considered part of the French existentialist canon. It seems a little over simplified ro merely label them "Irish plays" (especially since some have only that category applied). Anyway, just wondering what you thought.

-- Yossarian 20:13, May 28, 2005 (UTC)


 * I'd love to participate in your theatre project. My expertise (such as it is) lies in Shakespeare and Beckett. Had a look at your project page, too. Looks like quite a lofty task.


 * --Yossarian 00:33, May 30, 2005 (UTC)


 * PS: Marie Dressler was Canadian ;)


 * --Y


 * PPS - Many of Beckett's "French" plays further complicate matters by having distinctly "Irish" settings. Filiocht | Blarneyman 07:44, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

Hi Ganymead (again),

I've recently created a template for the plays of Samuel Beckett (found here: template:Beckett). I'm wondering if this fits into your theatre project?

Cheers,

Yossarian 12:00, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

Tillie
Thanks for the award. I will, I hope, get back to doing more Abbey Theatre related articles. Sean O'Casey is on my radar, for one. Filiocht | Blarneyman 07:44, May 30, 2005 (UTC)

Shaw
You already have convinced me: Template:Shaw. What else can I do for you?

-- Yossarian 03:13, May 31, 2005 (UTC)

Godot Arrives
I believe he's an American. --Yossarian 05:45, May 31, 2005 (UTC)

Now with 20% more Beckett!
Just reporting in: I've created a page for Beckett's Act Without Words II and significantly expanded Catastrophe. I'm also working on de-stubifying all the other Beckett plays that were...well, stubs, as well as putting together pages for those that don't exist. Thought you'd want to take a look.

Cheers,

Yossarian 08:01, May 31, 2005 (UTC)

Pinter
Created a Harold Pinter template. Won't add it to anything though, as there are virtually no articles on Pinter's plays. Will add to theatre project page though. Tell me what you think. Can be found here: Template:Pinter

--Yossarian 09:22, Jun 4, 2005 (UTC)


 * I haven't thought of any as of yet, but if you have any in mind (hopefully that have enough pages on their plays written, though that's not to big a deal at the moment), then I'd be happy to take care of it.


 * --Yossarian 06:28, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)


 * Ah yes! Mamet and Williams would be good...I'll take care of that. As for Endgame & Godot: those and Krapp's Last Tape are going to be my big Beckett projects, once I'm done with destubifying the smaller Beckett plays (which shouldn't take too long).


 * --Yossarian 06:45, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)


 * Have completed Mamet template (Found here: Template:Mamet). I haven't included the films yet, as I need to do more research and see what kind of input he had on each one (i.e. which can be considered "Mamet Films", and which are merely movies he made contributions to). Anyway, take a gander and tell me what you think. I'll work on the Willimas one next, then I'll get back to work on Beckett.


 * Cheers,
 * --Yossarian 07:22, Jun 10, 2005 (UTC)

Didn't realize that. I shall change it post haste.

Categorization of The Worthless
I see that you have categorized The Worthless as a Russian play. This seems odd to me. Yes, its author, Jacob Gordin, was born in Russia, but at the time he wrote it, he had lived in the U.S. nearly 20 years, and I'm pretty certain he was a U.S. citizen (although I don't know offhand). The play was commissioned by a New York theater, and was written in Yiddish. If this is a Russian play, is Lolita a Russian novel? -- Jmabel | Talk 18:10, Jun 4, 2005 (UTC)
 * On why I haven't nominated any of my articles on Yiddish theater for Featured Article status: I don't think any one article is good enough. I'm proud of what I've done in terms of decently covering the topic (at least pre-1910), but I haven't really polished any one article. Probably the best of the lot (in terms of being comprehensive on its topic) is Abraham Goldfaden, and even there I gather that he wrote a memoir that I've never read; I'm not even sure what languages it's been translated into, and I don't read Yiddish. Jacob Adler's extensive but incomplete memoir has been translated, and I used it heavily on Adler and others, but I haven't really done a ton of other research on him. Etc. Collectively, I think what I wrote may be the best single body of online material in English about the first generation or so of Yiddish theater, but that's a bit like being a tall midget: there is a real shortage of decent material on the topic on line. Not FA quality, and I suspect that in most cases, it would take someone who reads Yiddish (and ideally is in NYC with access to the YIVO archives) to get it there. -- Jmabel | Talk 05:06, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC)

Kennan
Re: Featured article candidates/George F. Kennan Please see recent changes to the article since your comment. Thanks. JBurnham 02:10, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Eugene Ballard date of birth
Hi! I was wondering if you have a source for Eugene Bullard's date of birth, which I am looking for. I've not managed to find any other Web sites that give such an accurate date as the Wikipedia article, and many of those give 1895, rather than '94.

(I might have posted this as a question on that article's Talk page, but I'm having trouble editing pages at the moment. Links that reference an individual section of a page {whether to add a new one, or edit an exising one} work fine, but general "edit this page" links, and therefore the link to create a new page, don't work!) &mdash; John Mark Williams &lt;⌂|☏&gt; 30 June 2005 14:06 (UTC)

Excellent! Just the kind of thing I was hoping for. Thanks! (Of course, I meant to say that many other Web sites give 1894 instead of &hellip;5, but you knew what I meant&hellip;.) &mdash; John Mark Williams &lt;⌂|☏&gt; 1 July 2005 07:30 (UTC)

PS: Do you think it would be worth linking the date to the reference at the bottom, since it is in conflict with what some other sources (albeit less authoritative ones) give? I'm not sure how one could do this: a number next to the date would look terrible, as would Harvard referencing, so perhaps it's best not to simply for those reasons. &mdash; John Mark Williams &lt;⌂|☏&gt; 1 July 2005 07:39 (UTC)

Featured article candidates/El Ángel/archive1
Following your feedback from peer review I've finally added El Ángel to the FAC page. Consider this a chance for more input and, if possible, to address any issues people have with the page. Thank you very much! -- Rune Welsh &tau;&alpha;&lambda;&kappa; 09:25, September 11, 2005 (UTC)

Break from Wikipedia
I have taken a break from Wikipedia for a while. Thanks for your concern. Ganymead 02:50, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

I have returned from break. Ganymead 03:44, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

Barnstar

 * Happy birthday it is then! Fir  e  Fo  x  16:51, 5 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Yeah - Happy Birthday! --Cel e stianpower hablamé 17:34, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

The Verdi Conspiracy
Hey, Lewis. Thanks for the comment. I absolutely agree with every point you make (and there will be the appropriate additions shortly) except one.

No encyclopedia entry can be entirely free of bias. There's just no way it can happen. There's simply no "sticking to the barest facts," since facts themselves are in some degree the result of some kind of interpretation.

That said, consider this an invitation to the Verdi Conspiracy.

We are in the middle of a cultural disaster, you know. The five opera greats - Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Bizet, Tchaikovsky - need, and should be given, all the help they can get. Believe you me. If it takes a little bit of a personal opinion tossed in here and there, so be it. Seriously. Towards the end of his career, Puccini said that (and I quote, from memory) - "The art of opera is finished. The audiences have lost their taste for that which is the foundation of music and are willing to tolerate works completely free of melody."

A new Renaissance is most certainly in order. Most music composed since World War Two (including the popular genres) is bureaucratic rather than artistic.

So, yes, by all means - let us be as neutral as we can when it comes to, say, Massenet. Or Copland. Or Dvorak. Who cares! But let us stubbornly promote the greats, anywhere and everywhere, as best we can, bending (and breaking, if necessary) rules that get in the way.

Here's an article I'd like you to consider when you find you've got a twenty-minute gap in your astoundingly busy wiki-schedule. I'm not the author. It was written and sent to me by a close friend and I found I can't help but agree with most of the points it makes (I'm a New Yorker, and intimately familiar with the place he's discussing). So I published it in my little e-zine venture thingie.

http://www.huffycow.com/easythought/opercris3.html

Sincerely,

Ricardo the Impressionist

Irish British category vote requested
Hi I noticed you added George B Shaw to this category. I created the cat to show how Irish people and people of Irish descent(within reason) have contributed to life in England, Scotland + Wales. I would appreciate your vote to keep the category and any friends you can muster to vote Categories_for_deletion. It was initially just nommed for renaming but as often seems to happen as soon as one person says delete the room regulars do copycat deletes. Arniep 01:06, 22 October 2005 (UTC)