Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 February 28

= February 28 =

the wild swan- band from liverpool
Hi there, I've been searching for so long that i lost my interest anymore about this band. I just feel frustrated for how could a good band be ever be forgotten? my question is where and how can i obtain a new or old cd's of the band? i'm really willing to pay no matter how much is the price as long as i can get hold 'em. please kindly send me the feedback as soon as possible... thank so much for all your help.

manny.


 * Scroll down this page for one of them. I don't know how many were released. Their myspace page also has some songs. And apparently the band members have gone on to different groups, like the Lotus Eaters. You might want to look at some of their old record labels' websites for some of their albums in reissue. Those would be this and this as well as another record label, Zoo Records, that's apparently gone out of business. Hope all that helps some. 70.108.199.130 05:48, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Rome (TV series)
Hi. I just started to watch that intersting TV serie. I'm not really good at speaking and understanding english, but it seemed to me that the serie makes a great difference between the aristocrats and the plebeians : the first ones have an oxfordian british accent and the other ones sound a little bit more american. Can somebody with a good english ear tell me if I heard this right ? jn.


 * It's great, isn't it :) You are absolutely right in that the different classes of people speak differently, but it is not American they speak. The upper class (Ceasar, Octavian, Atia, Cicero, ...) speaks very fine English, the middle class (the Vorenus family, mostly) speak pretty normal modern day English (they use a different register, but the accent is pretty normal), and the lower class (Titus Pullo and all the criminals) speaks with an almost cockney dialect. So they all speak "UK" English, it's just the class that differs. Oskar 07:01, 1 March 2007 (UTC)


 * You may also notice that Cicero and Pompey, as provincial arrivistes into the Roman ruling class, speak received pronunciation, but with a hint of a northern accent, and Brutus and Cassius, the most aristocratic characters, have even posher accents than the rest of the aristocrats. --Nicknack009 20:07, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
 * You might notice as well that slaves and other such characters may have totally non-English accents altogether - Germanic-sounding accents, for example (which makes sense, considering some slaves in Rome could have come from the barbaric German tribes). I think there's a limit to how much you can read into these accents, though; for example, the Jewish characters that are receiving greater prominence in Season 2 don't appear to my ear to have any particular accent, and a fine differentiation between Brutus and, say, Caesar might be a bit of a stretch. zafiroblue05 | Talk 01:10, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I guess you mean "German-sounding accents" and Germanic tribes. 惑乱 分からん 11:20, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Lol, indeed. Whoops. zafiroblue05 | Talk 21:02, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

"Toddler bypass" ?
Is there a term for the practice of having kids in TV shows instantly jump from babies to 4 or 5 years old ? This seems to be a common practice, to bypass the toddler years, when kids are incapable of acting. Babies don't need to act, and older kids are capable, so they just jump right over the toddler years. An example would be Family Ties, where Andrew (Brian Bonsall) went from a baby to about 4 from one season to the next. I just picked the term "toddler bypass" myself, is there any other term for this ? StuRat 15:27, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I cant find anything about it at our List of television show casting changes. While I agree in general that toddlers appear to be a rarity, I seem to remember the Olsen twins being on Full House throughout their toddler years. Rockpock  e  t  18:45, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * As do I. I also recall them being dreadful actresses as toddlers, doing nothing more than reading the line, usually while wearing sunglasses or giving the thumbs up gesture to distract from the fact that they didn't convey any emotion at all. StuRat 19:48, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Oh yeah, horrible. I guess they were meant to be cute, but they were just annoying. (Note that I've only seen the show for glimpses while zapping around the channels.) 惑乱 分からん 23:45, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * This term, in soap operas, is called Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome, or SORAS for short. Corvus cornix 20:06, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * That article sems to include the old "toddler bypass" as well as changing the age of characters for other reasons, and even animated characters that don't age at all. I think we need a better handling of the rate of aging of fictional characters, perhaps a new article is called for. StuRat 00:42, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

March of the Meanies
One of the guys played "March of the Meanies" by The Beatles at work today and I just can't get over how familiar the tune is. Besides Yellow Submarine, what movies, TV shows, cartoons, etc. was this song used in? Here's a link; just in case you need to hear the song again. --TheLimbicOne (talk) 16:53, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

John Birch, English Luthier
Hello, I have been looking for information on John Birch, the English Luthier for a Wikipedia article I am writing. The current draft can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Paulkstadden/article. Since there is very little to be found, I have been contacting various people who knew him or worked with him. I have posted much of the answers they have given me here: http://thepaulforum.blogspot.com. I was wondering if there's anything I've missed, if there are any books out there that give more information on him, or if there are any interviews with him in any magazines or newspapers. I want this article to be as thorough and accurate as possible. Thank you, Paulkstadden 19:17, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * The only thing I could find on this person was an article on Tony Iommi in the May 1999 issue of Guitar Player at page 19, which states that some of the guitars he was currently using were "custom SG-types built by luthier John Birch." Another article on Iommi in the July 2004 issue (starting at page 46) explains that Iommi himself purchased an English guitar company in 1971 and manufactured guitars under the John Birch and John Diggins names.  Nothing like as in-depth as you are looking for, but perhaps it is a help. Crypticfirefly 05:14, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
 * By the way, the latter article also says that Roy Orbison bought one of the interchangable-pickup guitars. Crypticfirefly 07:04, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you very much for searching, I appreciate your effort. Unfortunately, I need in depth material which can only come from people who knew him and worked with him. I am simply going to write an article and seek publication in a guitar magazine. Thanks, Paulkstadden 04:34, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Archiving
Would anybody who knows how to archive the Ref-Desks be able to assist in gettting the oldest day on each desk down to Feb 21, so that RefDeskBot can resume normal operation? Thanks for your help (you may be able to collaborate here if others are doing the same). Mart inp23 22:30, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * You mean you don't like seeing January 14th still up? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 23:40, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Yeah, it's getting kind of urgent, now. What about people on slow connections? 惑乱 分からん 23:42, 28 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Done and done. Oh wait, now it's 1 March, did you actually want it to Feb 22? Oh, I see Skittle 22:10, 1 March 2007 (UTC)