Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2008 July 2

= July 2 =

Paul Simon song
A question on the Misc desk about a Slayer song prompted me to ask this, which has been puzzling me for a while. There is a Paul Simon song (on his "Still Crazy After All these years" album, IIRC, called "Night game", about a baseball game that was halted by the death of a player. Was this based on a real incident, and if so where and when? Grutness...wha?  00:01, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Apparently it isn't. There is an interview posted on www.paul-simon.info in which Paul Simon is quoted thus:      " 'Night Game,' " he sighs. "That song is about ritual death, like in Roman times when they used to send people out into the arena to fight to the death, fighting animals and so forth, and it would have this cathartic effect upon the crowd. Well, today in our stadiums, people don't get killed, but they fight, and there's a winner and a loser. They're the descendants of those arenas, those games. So that's really what the song's about death: ritual death."     .  Best regards, --Dr Dima (talk) 01:26, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * As an aside, there has been one person who was killed by being hit by a pitch, Ray Chapman. Dismas |(talk) 01:44, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the info. Grutness...wha?  02:13, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Ray Chapman is the only Major League player who was killed by being hit by a pitch. It's happened to others at lower levels. MookieZ (talk) 04:00, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Faceless Guests in UK
I am admittedly a little impatient... so I thought instead of waiting for an answer to come out I could ask you good fellows here on the ref desk. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1031062/Faceless-aliens-spotted-crowd-Wimbledon.html my money is on a viral campaign seeing as how they are posing in most of the shots. And if it were infact celebs trying to hide, wouldn't some one be able to pick out who they are? After a little bit of searching on the web I did find some similar looking characters from the Dr. Who show, perhaps a movie is in the works?

12.155.80.115 (talk) 14:52, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I'm with you on the viral marketing theory. Really annoys me that kind of thing... these people think they're so goddamned clever. --Richardrj talkemail 15:13, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The faceless aliens are indeed from Doctor Who, but a 2006 episode, so it seems a little late for viral marketing. People often dress up for sports events.  Is it any weirder to dress up as Doctor Who characters than anything else ? Gwinva (talk) 21:26, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * It doesn't have anything to do with Dr. Who. It's a viral marketing campaign for a new Lotus car. See http://facelesspeople.com and this article on io9 for more info. Creepy... (but ultimately pretty pointless.) Kreachure (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 21:38, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * It is, of course, The Question! -- Captain Disdain (talk) 09:26, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Haha! The Question would have been a tad more interesting then a viral campaign for a car I'll never be able to drive! Anyway, thanks to all for your input and thoughts. I'll be able to sleep well tonight.

12.155.80.115 (talk) 12:29, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Yankees autograph ball
When I was 10 Don Mattingly autographed a ball for me. After his signature he printed the leters "INCOQUBLES". For 15 years I have been trying to find out what that could possibly stand for. He would not tell me the day it was signed. Does anybody want to take a stab at it???>>67.8.129.138 (talk) 14:56, 2 July 2008 (UTC)Tim


 * A few - fairly useless - anagrams can be derived out of these letters (SNOB CLIQUE and the like). There is also a Mary QUBLES in the US census of 1920 but I can´t see any connection.
 * There is a Latin verb, "INCOQUO", meaning to add some stuff to a simmering stew. Incoqubles could be a noun for various tasty morsels to be added to a dish to enhance its taste (used metaphorically by DM, who - I read - ran a restaurant in the late 80s).  There may be the odd Latin lover lurking around this desk who has access to a proper dictionary.  --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:50, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Nothing quite as tasty as these incookatoobles given above, but one far-fetched possibility: "IN COQUILLES" >>ink smears>> "IN COQUBLES" >>leather shrinks>> "INCOQUBLES". Maybe Mattingly signed the ball in Coquille, Oregon? (Or maybe he likes to incoquate Cookatoo's simmering stew with Coquilles Saint-Jacques. ---Sluzzelin talk  07:38, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Fascination with deceased actors and artists and their final works
Forgive me if this is more appropriate for the humanities desk, but since I am currently completely obssessed with Heath Ledger's character The Joker   in upcoming new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight"...I thought I would place it here. What causes many of us as humans to be completely fascinated with the final works of an actor, singer, musician or artist who has recently passed away? Obviously I am not the only one who feels this way, for example, record sales usually increase heavily when a singer dies, etc. Is it a deep rooted sympathy for the person, or more of a desire to see or hear the final performances because we think in some way it was the cause of what led to their demise...that it somehow must be such an incredible performance that it actually took the life out of them. Or is it a desire to learn from the final works of someone so close to the end of exsistence, and they may have discovered something at the last minute we think we need to know? Is there a reason or term for this? thanks and cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 19:58, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I think a lot of it has to do with respect. HBO is airing lots of George Carlin stuff right now too. Who's going to say Heath Ledger wasn't a good Joker, true or not? --Wirbelwind ヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 21:12, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Art increases in value after a person dies, usually because there's a limit to it and it becomes precious as a result. When you add the young life cut short factor, you start to get an intense focus on that person's story and a lot of mystery as well, with questions such as were there clues to the death, what would have been and such, so that it becomes a kind of hero saga. There's a saying, there's nothing like a hanging to focus the mind – in these cases, their early death may serve to focus our minds. For a while anyway, Julia Rossi (talk) 00:03, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Not to mention the publicity factor, when they die they are in the news and so on the forefront of people's minds when making entertainment choices. -- Mad031683  (talk) 15:54, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Song/Artist Information
I'm trying to find out about "On The Dark Side", by John Cafferty —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.35.36.117 (talk) 22:03, 2 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Then you may find what you need to know in the article here: John Cafferty cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 22:56, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

xbox live for 360?
can someone explain to me the hookups? how much also? --TheGreenGorilla (talk) 01:02, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Have you read our article on Xbox Live? The distinction between Silver and Gold will be of particular use.  Alternately, consult the official site at xboxlive.com. &mdash; Lomn 02:20, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

ty --TheGreenGorilla (talk) 02:30, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

What's that song?
 Hello. I heard a song, and I can only remember a few lyrics, they went something like "It's a beautiful new day, hey hey hey" (in a slightly british (??) accent) and then there were some cymbals. I'm wondering what that song is. Thanks. (btw I'm asking this on the misc. desk as opposed to the entertainment desk because there are more people on the misc. desk so someone's bound to know what song it is.) Ilikefood (talk) 23:15, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Do you mean Beautiful Day by U2? (Youtube: )..Fribbler (talk) 23:20, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * No, it started out with guitars, i think. (but I'm not sure). It was a little more upbeat. Thanks, though. :-) Ilikefood (talk) 23:25, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Never mind, it's "Mr. Blue Sky".


 * This would have been an excellent question for the Entertainment Desk. StuRat (talk) 00:07, 3 July 2008 (UTC)
 * He already explained why he didn't ask it there. --Richardrj talkemail 00:10, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * The more questions that don't get asked at Ents, the less questions will be answered there. -- LarryMac  | Talk  01:08, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I would have asked it there, but there's at least twice as much of a chance that I'll get the answer I'm looking for if I ask the question on a ref desk that has more people. Ilikefood (talk) 01:41, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * There may be more people here, but I'd expect those who cruise the Entertainment Desk to be experts on popular culture, so you might get better answers there. StuRat (talk) 03:06, 3 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree with Larry and Stu. You shouldn't deliberately ask entertainment questions here. If that's the case then we should just get rid of the Ent desk altogether. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 07:55, 3 July 2008 (UTC)