Wikipedia:Reference Desk archive 8

Help - Need Name of Old Show
I have this memory of a show from when I was a child. I don't remember very much. All I remember is that there was a group of people on a very large spaceship. They spend their time moving from one large room to another. These were not rooms really but more like other worlds. In these other worlds, they would have adventures. I believe they were trapped on this ship and were trying to get off. I am not sure if this show really existed or is part of my imagination. If you know the name, please let me know at michaelmonge@msn.com. Thanks.


 * Do you know when this show aired? -Smack 20:40, 12 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Is this perhaps The Starlost? Mike

From what he is describing, it is The Starlost a horribly dredful show (I watched it when it came out, about 30 years ago) that was so bad Harlan Ellison did an Alan Smithee and had his pen name Cordwainer Bird substituted. -- Paul Rfc1394 23:21, 5 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Meteor Shower Observed Cave Creek./ AZ US 12/14/2003
Question moved from m:Meta:Babel Last night 03:00 to 04:00 my wife and I saw 13 meteors and from 04:00 to 05:00 3 more. For a total of 16 meteors that were visible for apx 2 seconds.

Questions:

Was this a part of the Leonid shower? How do you report meteor showers / meteorites?

Regards, James Quaid Cave Creek, AZ jfquaid@earthlink.net


 * That seems to be the Geminid shower...there's not much use in reporting them though, unless one happened to survive and landed in your backyard :) Adam Bishop 17:44, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Countries of the world -- abbreviations
Is there anywhere in Wikipedia an alphabetical list of countries with their official abbreviations? There are several, aren't there: licence plate / sports / Internet address / whatever.

If there is no such survey, shouldn't there be? --KF 17:22, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

What do you mean by abbreviations? Ones used in English? Or ISO codes? Secretlondon 17:25, Dec 15, 2003 (UTC)


 * Abbreviations used internationally and/or in English (as this is the English Wikipedia). Italy, for example, is I if you look at the license plate of a car but it in an Internet address. Germany is D, de, Austria A, at, but sometimes also AUT etc. --KF 17:37, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

These are the ISO codes: ISO 3166-1 for country abbreviations. Secretlondon 17:49, Dec 15, 2003 (UTC) For others look at Country code.


 * Yes of course, how stupid of me. Everyone is always telling me about ISO 3166-1. :) But just now I've also found the List of Internet TLDs: another amazing article because -- again -- I don't even understand the acronym in the title.


 * Thanks for the trouble, Secretlondon. I'm of course making fun of those pages, not you! All the best, KF 18:01, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Look at [RFC 1394] for a list of country codes. I know about it because I wrote it.  -- Paul Rfc1394 06:53, 4 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Freedom & art
I've been looking in vain for an article on what in German is so nicely referred to as Freiheit der Kunst. There must be a similar concept all over the world, but all I got from Google was dozens of pages referring me to "Four Wheel Freedom: The Art of Off-Road Driving", and in Wikipedia reading Art, Definition of art, Freedom (political) and Liberty didn't get me anywhere either. So what about "freedom of art/the arts"? --KF 17:31, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Common English-language phrase is "artistic freedom". Jmabel 19:14, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Okay. So what about artistic freedom? I'll add it to Requested articles. Thanks, Jmabel. --KF 21:12, 15 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Only in German is such an expression necessary, since an absence of artistic freedom has never been an issue in the English-speaking world. Adam 03:47, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Adam, I don't know you, so I cannot judge whether that remark represents ignorance, abuse, or just random sarcasm, (or maybe I just have an impaired sense of humor at the moment). In case it's the first of the lot, see Karen Finley (performing arts), Robert Mapplethorpe or Andres Serrano (visual arts) or Henry Miller (literary arts) for prominent examples of artistic censorship in the English-speaking world. Or see the current news for a current example. (Jeez, I find Finley and Serrano so far only merit minor mentions in articles about other people. Maybe ignorance would be more excusable than I thought. There's 2 articles that ought to be written, plus another about the NEA Four.) Jmabel 04:11, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Yes I was being mildly ironic. Silly me. Adam 04:26, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * If nothing else, this got me to start articles on Andres Serrano and the NEA Four. I don't know much of Finley's work, mostly just the controversy about it (and one rather boring performance I saw), so I'm not the one to write that one. Jmabel

British Titles, Styles, etc.
If someone's title is given as: "F.M. His Grace The Most Noble John (Campbell), 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich, KG, KT, PC", with the parenthetical being his last name, what would the name in the article be? I did:

The Most Noble John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Greenwich, 1st Duke of Greenwich, KG, KT, PC, with the current article at John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll. However, isn't His Grace sort of a toned-down HRH, and isn't KG Knight of the Garter, which would make him Sir John...? ugen64 00:38, Dec 19, 2003 (UTC)

A peerage is a different thing to a knighthood. If John Smith is given a knighthood, he adds "Sir" to his name but Smith is still his surname. If John Smith is made Earl of Gotham, his title replaces his surname. He should be indexed under "Gotham, John Smith, 1st Earl of." Also, peers frequently also hold knighthoods, but the title deriving from the peerage takes priority, so the Duke of Argyll is never called "Sir John." He is the Duke of Argyll, KG, KT." (Knight of the Garter, Knight of the Thistle). Adam 03:41, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I see now. See, I think that British military and royal history is just... cooler than American military and royal history, so I'm currently writing biographies on the British Field Marshals. Too bad their names aren't easy, like HRH The Prince of Wales, KG or something... :-\. ugen64 18:53, Dec 19, 2003 (UTC)


 * Of course we have Duke Ellington and the Dukes of Hazard :) Anjouli 10:59, 20 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Guantanamo Bay
This BBC story says that Americans get preferential treatment at Guantanamo Bay. I was under the impression that US citzens are not held at Guantanamo. Can anyone confirm or refute this? Adam 03:37, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * This article (among others) seems to confirm your assertion. Mintguy 21:25, 20 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Looking For A Forester...
Looking for a Forester Office that I've been to in Gelsen-Kirchen. The Forester of choice is Oliver Balke. Is there anyone who would help me with the address and even telephone number?

Thank You, Tina B.


 * Take a look at this website, it gives the email addresses and telephone number of several foresters in the Recklinghausen (district), Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen: www.forst.nrw.de. A quick google search after the name you gave was all I needed to find it :-) andy 08:41, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Methuselah
Where can I buy a Methuselah bottle of champagne and what price range is it in?

You can get a bottle of Veuve Clicquot here for £289. Other places, too, of course. Just google for your brand + Methuselah. - Binky 03:42, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Bard's Tale - Levitating Up a portal
Hello,

I have recently revisited my youth and have been playing Bard's Tale I. With a Levitation or Major Levitation spell in effect, I have no trouble going down a portal (Using the 'D' key while over the portal) but going up has proven trying. The command I have been trying is using the 'E' key while under the portal, but I don't go up.

What am I missing???

Thank you for any assistance.

Chuck


 * I don't know the game, but have you tried 'U' for Up? &#922;&#963;&#965;&#960; Cyp  13:25, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Type "A" with a levitation spell up.

Violence necessary for human progress?
In the course of a debate at Talk:Robert Mugabe, 172 added this to my talk page:


 * [...] From time to time, violence is necessary for human progress. [...]

and went on to try to make the case this is not his personal POV, but an assertion generally accepted by professional historians as a neutral description of reality. Am I alone in thinking this is just a specific POV that needs to be balanced with others? Stan 22:41, 24 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Clearly it's POV; heck, the very notion of "human progress" is POV, and, furthermore, historical necessity is unprovable. That said, and with your interlocutor's qualification "from time to time", I wouldn't consider it a notably controversial view. For those of us who consider the rise of democracy in Europe a case of human progress, it is hard to imagine that the medieval nobility and royalty would have resigned their prerogatives in the face of mere moral suasion. The questions of both necessity and progress are unprovable, but on both points, in that particular case, I would assume what I am stating to be a majority opinion. -- Jmabel 23:24, 24 Dec 2003 (UTC)


 * Also, "is necessary" places it in the present. If it is a historical discussion, use the past tense. 205.215.216.202 22:03, 26 Dec 2003 (UTC)]]

KrupS, KrupP, Arms, Nazis
I received a Krups coffee grinder as a gift. I'm a little leery of having it sitting on my kitchen counter, but that may be due to my own confusion over similar names. A little googling suggests that the company Krups is not related to any of the Krupp companies of arms makers.

Is this in fact the case? What ties, if any, does the Krups company have to Naziism, arms, or war crimes?

Thanks.

orthogonal 20:31, 26 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I'm quite certain that the coffee-machine people are unrelated to the arms manufacturer. This came up some time back in the Eighties: I can't remember where I read it, but it was definitely somewhere generally reliable. Jmabel 21:54, 26 Dec 2003 (UTC)

addition from a random user: The Krups company that makes kitchen gadgets is unrelated to the Krupps Steel Factory which is now part of the ThyssenKrupps AG conglomerate. Your coffee maker is warcrime and arms free.

btw. its called thyssenkrupp not krupps... greets from germany