Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2009 December 7

= December 7 =

Sitars Anyone?
It there a website that has a toll free number where you can order Sitars? You know those Indian Guitar things? That George Harrison played? Ha, ha. Thanks. Moptopstyle1 05:35, 7 December 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Moptopstyle1 (talk • contribs)
 * Have you looked at any websites so far? I went to google and simply entered [sitar purchase] and a bunch of sites came up.
 * Most of them have the normal sized sitar. Some of them have the small one, called the "baby sitar". [Thanks to the late Joey Forman for that one.] ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:57, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, at MusiciansFriend.com, it's a weird looking "Guitar Sitar". Oh, but at tablasitar.com it has them! Thank you. Moptopstyle1 21:55, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Veronica Lake
As Joseph Pulitzer stated, the three most important things in reportage are "accuracy, accuracy, and accuracy." The same is, of course, true for Wikipedia articles. Being sure of one's sources is critical, and the internet has rather low reliability. This was driven home for me when doing research to expand an article which I wrote and maintain, and I came across a number of sites that were verbatim copies of what I had written. Although my article was well-researched and correct, the ease with which misinformation can be spread on the net is frightening. The point of this prologue is that I implore that anyone who answers my question will supply a valid source for the information.

I refer to the article on Veronica Lake.
 * The infobox at top right states that she was born in Seattle.
 * The section "Early life and career" claims that she was born in Brooklyn.

Okay, so where was she born? B00P (talk) 03:15, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Ain't Seattle a suboib of Brooklyn? I've corrected it (IMDb and other unreliable sources say the latter), but am still searching for a good source. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:03, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't see a reliable source, but there are so many semi-reliable sources for Brooklyn, and so few for anywhere else, that I would consider Brooklyn pretty safe. The year has much more variety in sourcing. DJ Clayworth (talk) 18:11, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Hm. The article currently reads When she was about one year old, the family moved to Florida but returned to Seattle before she was five. Did they live in Seattle once, but moved to Florida and then back to Seattle, or was this the first time they'd ever been in Seattle? It's kind of confusing. 99.166.95.142 (talk) 17:21, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * According to Jeff Lenburg's biography of Lake, Peekaboo, her parents lived on Lefferts Avenue in Brooklyn when she was born, and then at the age of eight, the family moved to Saranac, New York. Then she went to a Catholic girls boarding school in Montreal. Pepso2 (talk) 17:43, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

fringe (TV series), season 1, episode 18 (midnight) - soundtrack
hi! i would like to listen to one of the songs in the club scene (@53th minute including commercials), after walter says "prepare the table, agent farnsworth" (or similar) and the syphilis-guy says "thank u" (the song says "about u" quite often, i think...) (the fbi gurl asks "have u found something?" (or similar) and peter says "not yet - i got her" (or similar))... who can say the name of the song? and its artist...? thx. bye. --Homer Landskirty (talk) 03:47, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * There is a chance it could be one of these: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1390443/soundtrack. Lanfear's Bane  |  t  23:53, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * nope... but ur suggestion made me google for fringe midnight soundtrack; and i found this - the tune is the one by ladytron: ... :-) w00t *wag tail* --Homer Landskirty (talk) 01:29, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Guitar Center People!
Does Guitar Center just MATCH the lowest price advertised, or will they actually LOWER it? I'm looking at this Gretsch 5120, and on most sites it goes for $699, and that price is also on Guitarcenter.com So, is that the only price they'll stay at, or will it go even cheaper to be the "Guaranteed Lowest Price" ? 05:47, 7 December 2009 (UTC)Moptopstyle1 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Moptopstyle1 (talk • contribs)

And also, I CAN'T SIGN TALK PAGES! For real! I Click the "Moptopstyle1 05:49, 7 December 2009 (UTC)" things, and it doesn't work! Sorry, it just won't except it? Any other ideas for me to sign? Watch it won't take it! Moptopstyle1 05:49, 7 December 2009 (UTC) I signed it and it won't work! Moptopstyle1 05:49, 7 December 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Moptopstyle1 (talk • contribs)

Never mind about the signing my talk pages. Jayron32 figured it out for me. But does anyone know the answer to the Guitar Center question? Moptopstyle1 (talk) 06:03, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Song from I.O.U.S.A.
Hello friends, There is an instrumental song in the documentary called I.O.U.S.A.. If you watch the 30 -minutes, Byte-Sized version here, it begins at 8:46 and lasts for around one minutes. I've searched extensively, but to no avail. Any help would be much appreciated.```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jerjacques (talk • contribs) 06:53, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

30 Rock Song
There's a string-quartet song in the latest episode of 30 Rock that I'm really hankering for. It starts at 19:27. Many thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jerjacques (talk • contribs) 07:06, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Be aware that your link in the preceding question yields a YouTube message "The URL contained a malformed video ID", and the one in this question links to a video library unavailable outside the USA, which cuts down the number of people able to contribute. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 18:08, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Play a midi on CD?
Someone sent me a midi (new to me!) and I can click on it and play it on my computer. Can I transfer it to play it on a CD? If so, how? I am an elderly ignoramus so please don't use too much jargon! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jetolan (talk • contribs) 11:20, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * MIDI files (which normally have a .mid extension) are stored in a special format, which just encodes the notes and voices. This isn't compatible with a CD.  You'll need MIDI player software which can output to audio files, or you can record the output of your PC.  Google suggests there are a few websites (such as Hamienet) and free software packages which will convert midi to MP3 or wave audio which can then be burnt to a CD, but I don't have the experience to recommend any.--Pleasantman (talk) 15:01, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, Pleasantman. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jetolan (talk • contribs) 22:14, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * If you play the midi file using, say, Windows Media Player, you can simultaneously record it using an audio recorder such as Audacity (free download). The tricky bit is to make sure that the audio input source is midi. If you double click the loudspeaker icon at the bottom right of the screen (assuming you're using windows), an applet with various sliders will appear. There will be one slider for each audio output source on your soundcard. Now if you go to the applet's menu, you can make this applet show the audio input sources instead. I can't give you the exact wordings on the menus (as mine are in Norwegian) but a back-translation is "alternatives" (first item on leftmost item in menubar), then "properties" (first item in submenu). A dialog appears, on the top of which is a combo box. Below are two radio buttons. The default option (for the radio buttons) is "playback". Select "recording" instead". The applet changes, and now shows the audio sources. Each slider now represents an audio source. Make sure the "midi" one is selected, and that the volume is turned up. If you start the program you used to play back the midi and Audacity, start playing the midi, and then start recording with Audacity, you should be able to record the midi that's playing. --NorwegianBluetalk 22:06, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, Norwegian Blue - very clear instructions. If I can't manage it it will be entirely my own incompetence!

Ghana's national football team's biggest loss?
Ghana national football team says Brazil 8-2 Ghana 1996-03-27, with references for that score, but not mentioning if it's Ghana's biggest loss. Bulgaria national football team says Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana 1968-10-02 with no references at all. Contradiction pointed out via OTRS. -- Jeandré (talk), 2009-12-07t12:38z, -- Jeandré (talk), 2009-12-07t12:40z
 * According to the very comprehensive EU Football website, it was a friendly played in Leon, Mexico, shortly before the 1968 Olympics (held in Mexico City) in which Bulgaria and Ghana competed in the football (soccer) championship - although there's a lack of references, and eu-football.info is banned from Wikipedia. The two teams never met in the Olympic tournament, in which Bulgaria was ultimately runner-up to Hungary but Ghana went out in the first round. --Pleasantman (talk) 15:22, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The RSSSF archive, which is very comprehensive, doesn't list the Bulgaria-Ghana game, so I'm a little worried if there's any evidence it took place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pleasantman (talk • contribs) 15:37, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * For what it's worth, the 1968 game would presumably have been played by the Olympic teams and not the official national teams and may not be considered a full international. The FIFA web site does not list the Ghana game - in fact it seems that Bulgaria and Ghana have never played a full international against one another - but does list the 1996 Brazil friendly. --Xuxl (talk) 18:27, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

song from La Chinoise
Godard's La Chinoise has this song. Whose song is this? The female voice introduces tonal and rhythmic shift. What do you call this in music? Anything to do with contrapuntal? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Saptharishi (talk • contribs) 14:26, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * If by "Whose song is this?" you mean "Who wrote it and sings it?" the answer is Claude Channes. Deor (talk) 01:44, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Agency name/address for John Williams the film composer
I would like to book John Williams for a future event and need the name/address/phone of his agency in order to make contact. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.74.134.208 (talk) 20:16, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Did you try Googling "john williams agent"? The first hit is this page, which lists an agent who is allegedly his.  Naturally, this is on a random Internet site, so be careful that you are able to validate that it's really his agent and not some con artist who will book you with John Williams, the puppeteer.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:23, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Or John Williams the classical guitar player. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:31, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc. lists him as one of their composers on their web page --Pleasantman (talk) 15:15, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Seven dwarfs, seven samurai
Any connection? 78.146.231.126 (talk) 21:40, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * There are 7 of both of them. -- Jayron  32  21:54, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Snow White is a fairy tale dating back hundreds of years. Seven Samurai is a movie from 1954. If you want to claim that the Disney movie is related to Seven Samurai, keep in mind that the Disney movie was released before Seven Samurai. So, you'd be claiming that, for some reason, Kurosawa watched the Disney cartoon and decided to change the dwarfs to samurai, give them entirely new names and personalities, get rid of Snow White and the witch, forget about the whole apple thing, replace the forest with a Japanese village, and drop everything about the animals being helpful servants. Pretty much, he'd just keep the fact that the stories both take place somewhere on a little blue-green planet somewhere in space. -- k a i n a w &trade; 21:59, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I have no idea if there is any connections between the stories. I'd guess no, but I'm no historian/linguist/etc but you sound like the kind of person who would enjoy this page: 7_(number). Aaadddaaammm (talk) 22:02, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * And exactly what Kainaw describes did happen to Seven Samurai, not for the seven dwarves though. "Its influence can be most strongly felt in the western The Magnificent Seven (1960), a film specifically adapted from Seven Samurai. Director John Sturges took Seven Samurai and adapted it to the Old West, with the Samurai replaced by gunslingers." Seven Samurai. Aaadddaaammm (talk) 22:07, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * That is not exactly what I described. Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven have very similar plot lines.  The Seven Dwarfs and Seven Samurai have nothing by trivial plot elements in common. --  k a i n a w &trade; 02:38, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

I wonder what the chances are of Kurosawa seeing SWATSD. Was it distributed in Japan? 78.146.231.126 (talk) 23:28, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * According to imdb, it was released in Japan in 1950. Seven Samurai came out in 1954.  Woogee (talk) 01:59, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Many directors, Kurasawa included, are students of film worldwide. Even if there was not widespread release of some movie in Japan, it is likely that he was familiar with it.  -- Jayron  32  02:34, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The Snow White story probably has a closer connection to The Seven Little Foys than it does to the Samurai. Although the thought of the Samurai marching to war singing the "Hi-Ho" song is an interesting mental picture. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:13, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * George Romero once said he wanted to do a remake with women which he would title The Magnificent 14. Pepso2 (talk) 03:38, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Vaguely related to that, though not much to the OP's question, was this Carnac joke: "Divine Right ... Describe half of Raquel Welch!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:05, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * And then there is Snow White and the Seven Samurai, which is a poor article, and the Tom Holt website page | about the book is not that much better. Here the dwarves and the Samurai are the same beings, or maybe not. Bielle (talk) 04:58, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Probably not, but A Bug's Life is a retelling of that story.... Kingsfold (talk) 18:06, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Probably not, but A Bug's Life is a retelling of that story.... Kingsfold (talk) 18:06, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Guitar Center
Does Guitar Center just MATCH the lowest price advertised, or will they actually LOWER it? I'm looking at this Gretsch 5120, and on most sites it goes for $699, and that price is also on Guitarcenter.com So, is that the only price they'll stay at, or will it go even cheaper to be the "Guaranteed Lowest Price" ? Moptopstyle1 21:53, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Have you contacted your local Guitar Center? They will likely answer your questions over the phone or in person.  I'm a Sam Ash man myself, but I've used Guitar Center for some stuff before.  They seem like reasonable people at my local store, and I don't think they'd laugh at me behind my back if I asked this kind of question of them.  -- Jayron  32  21:56, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

Well, I have asked them if they match prices in China! ha! They said they don't! I wish they did! You can get a Gibson, Seriously, for $200! But, I guess I could ask them. But the nearest Guitar Center is an hour 1/2 away from me. So... Moptopstyle1 22:05, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Call them?! Phone lines remove any distance... Gazhiley (talk) 13:46, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

John Lennon 2
What kind of impact did he have on society when he was alive? Moptopstyle1 22:01, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

See The Beatles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Imagine (song) for a start. He was a wildly successful performer in a band, had good success as a solo artist and was known to be vocal about his thoughts on all manner of things political. ny156uk (talk) 23:22, 7 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Also see more popular than Jesus for his own reference to his (and the Beatles') impact on society. -- k a i n a w &trade; 05:22, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * You could say he was responsible for the end of the Vietnam war. And you could also say he gave us some of the most enduring popular music of the 20th century. Really, however, measuring the impact of one man on modern Western society is a job for future generations. --TammyMoet (talk) 10:30, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The second statement is demonstrably true. The first statement is not. I assume you were being funny with that one. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:34, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I was trying to prove a point. Anyone can claim that someone else did something and should be held in high esteem for it: however, the people whose judgement will count are the historians who will write after we're all dead. Anyway, people will argue about things like influence regardless. --TammyMoet (talk) 19:28, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The Beatles recordings remain available 40 years after they broke up, which is pretty good longevity for pop culture. Hard telling what will be of interest in another 40-50 years. The "British Invasion" in general had a significant impact on the direction of pop music. Lennon's somewhat incredulous (and misinterpreted) comment about being "bigger than Jesus" caused a significant ruckus at the time, but that was about it. The Beatles' influence was largely in pop culture, not politics so much. Plenty of other artists had things to say about the Vietnam war, but since it dragged on to about 5 years after the Beatles broke up, that will give you an idea how much influence they had on it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:25, 9 December 2009 (UTC)