Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2009 December 9

= December 9 =

Indian Movie about NRIs (Non Resident Indians)
Watched this movie long-long back, so back that even I (who has a very sharp memory of everything)forgot almost everything about it! Now I am trying hard to guess that film's name so that I could watch it again. Please help me remember it. Only things I can recall are : It stars Saeed Jaffery who plays the role of an Indian living in the west along with other such fellows and (it's about that usual cultural clash of India-west) It is something of a satire about young Indians trying to fit in westren soceity among their other friends, there has the usual arranged marriage issue. One scence I distinctly remember is Saeed Jaffery saying "..mein usse yahaan kaam karvaroga - uske chutron pe joota rakh ke...( मैं उससे काम करवाउंगा - उसके चूतरों पे जूता रख के )" etc... and other scence I can never forget is when a Punjabi looking girl (wearing T-shirt) suddenly raises her shirt to bare her breast while standing by a window to seduce her cousin or maybe boy friend...kindly tell me what film it was...no it is not Chicken Tikka Masala....

My Beautiful Laundrette? I think I remember a girl baring her breast in order to attract her cousin, whom we already know (or soon find out) to be gay and involved with a white guy played by Daniel Day Lewis in one of his earliest film roles. Catrionak (talk) 20:19, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Jon Ascton   (talk)  19:30, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Word usage in encyclopedia articles - the word "run"
There's a lot of things I can't stand in some fictional subjects in the encyclopedia. Mostly, I'll live with them until I figure out how to fix them.

But I've run into a "blocking" problem with the word "run" used in the context, "the show's run".

While I buy that this is acceptable in informal English usage, it does not "sound" right to me in an encyclopedia article; it just sounds too informal in an article. I see it a lot on English Wikipedia, and I just shrug, because I don't know the fix.

Mostly, this is no big deal. But now I'm working on an article (page) at Commons, and I want to translate the text for speakers of other languages for whom the page may be relevant (I plan to use Google Translate because that's the best I know how to do).

Before I do that I want the paragraph "perfect" (ahem). I've got it that way (yes, my own subjective standard), except this one word, "run".

Here's the paragraph: "Babylon 5 (1993–1998 plus spin-offs) is an epic American science fiction television series and fictional universe created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers around the Babylon 5 space station, a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and wars. The series is noted for its heavy reliance on pre-planned story arcs over its five-year run, sometimes described as a "novel for television"."

The equivalent sentence to the problem one on English Wikipedia is: "The regular series aired from January 26, 1994 and ran for five full seasons, winning two Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation and two Emmy Awards—for visual effects and makeup."

While the verb form "ran" seems less annoying, the sentence is too long and detailed for Commons, I feel. It's not really an improvement if I just chop off the awards sub-clause, though.

On Wikipedia we have the luxury of rambling on about what we mean; on Commons we do not; even a three sentence paragraph seems to be pushing it (the German version only uses two), so I'm trying to write concisely (WP:TLDR and all that).

Can anybody think of a better word to use than "run" without getting all wordy and verbose about what we mean by it? &mdash;Aladdin Sane (talk) 02:53, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * This is perfectly standard usage - "run" can be (and frequently is) used as a noun to mean "a. A continuous period of operation, especially of a machine or factory. b. The production achieved during such a period: a press run of 15,000 copies."  So I think you need to rethink your crusade? 218.25.32.210 (talk) 03:46, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * An alternate wording would be "air" and "aired" and "airing" but I still feel you have no grounds to stand on in your original complaint. 218.25.32.210 (talk) 03:49, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * It seems the OP considers "run" to be kind of slangy, but it's in very common usage - as you say, for any continuous series. I recall when the Chicago Bulls held what was likely their swan song championship celebration in Grant Park, and one of them (maybe Jordan, maybe Rodman) said, "We've had a good run." That's typical usage. A short word, and a good word. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:19, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks, these answers are helping me understand my question better.


 * I'm kinda' liking 218.25.32.210's term "aired" since it has a technical meaning behind it of "transmission". That starts getting specific for me, and I like it when that happens.


 * What it's actually about, that you're helping me understand, is not the "somewhat informal" English usage, what it's really about is what happens to this usage when I translate it in to a language I don't know? Per 218.25.32.210's reference there are 30 noun definitions for the word in English.  Per Wiktionary, there are 26 (I had already checked, this definition is there:  "The amount of something made.").  The thing is, with a word that common, 26-30 definitions in English, there are almost certainly 26 or so definitions for it in Croatian.  My question becomes, "Is this usage likely one of them?"  At that point, I guess the question goes beyond the scope of this Help Desk, because it becomes foreign language related, rather than entertainment related.  I didn't notice a translations Help Desk.  Did I miss it?  &mdash;Aladdin Sane (talk) 06:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The Language Desk will help you with translations. If you're concerned with ambiguity in translation, base yours on "air" and such. But so long as we're playing in the English sandbox, don't piss on our "run" - that's one of the more poetic uses of the word, says me. 218.25.32.210 (talk) 06:27, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Some purists might also consider "aired" to be slangy, although it's in very common usage in broadcasting. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:36, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I have found Google translate to be fairly useful. I was thinking that a good synonym for "run" in terms of a TV show, a broadway play, a series of championships, or whatever, could be "duration". A run of newspapers or some other document could be more like a "set". "Run" conveys the idea of a flow of some kind. In fact, a creek or river is also sometimes called a "run" (the most famous probably being Bull Run). Do you see the common idea among all these terms? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:32, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks to all who helped. I and another editor have put the translation into action at Babylon 5. If you happen to know any Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Hindustani, Mandarin Chinese, or Spanish, you can help clean up the machine translation (German and Russian have already been fixed). &mdash;Aladdin Sane (talk) 17:08, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

What Purcell piece is interpreted by Pamelia Kurstin?
Thereminist Pamelia Kurstin has a piece on her myspace page here that is simply titled "Purcell," and sounds very much like the style of Henry Purcell. It is presumably from a live performance and features a backing track of harpsichord ground bass and several layers of theremin textures presumably emulating strings.

What composition is this performance based on? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.62.112.57 (talk) 16:37, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * It's the aria "When I am Laid in Earth" (also referred to as "Dido's Lament") from Dido and Aeneas. --  JackofOz (talk) 08:15, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Movie with Male Breast Cancer???
I swear I'm not making this up, I distinctly remember there being a movie about a male football player or someone being diagnosed with breast cancer, or at least running the risk of getting it. What could I possibly be thinking of?! Jared  (t)  &ensp; 16:43, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't know of the movie, but the scenario is entirely possible. Men have less breast tissues than women, but not none, and a small percentage of men (much smaller than in women) do get breast cancer. Perhaps our Breast cancer article could mention this a little more prominently - currently it's only alluded to in the 'Society and culture' section, which does however contain the following external link: Male Breast Cancer Awareness Week. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 17:11, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Probably the most well-known male sufferer is/was actor Richard Roundtree. Grutness...wha?  21:59, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Not a movie, but a character in Oz (the prison show on HBO) got breast cancer. -- k a i n a w &trade; 17:41, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Best Zombie plan idea?
I have no idea why, but iv been thinking about a zombie outbreak, or infected outbreak alot latly. i want to know, if even possible, what the best plan would be in general. weather it is to make a stronghold, keep moving, or head to a remote place and hide out. i'd like to hear some creative stuff, if anyone doesnt just think this is a stupid question lol. after all this is mostly for entertainment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DanielTrox (talk • contribs) 19:03, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * You might like to read The Zombie Survival Guide, or maybe contact the University of Chicago Zombie Readiness Task Force for advice. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Plan 9 from Outer Space is a well-known and highly-regarded documentary on the subject. As the narrator says, "Future events like these will affect you in the future." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:27, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Also check out non-fiction: The Magic Island (1929) by William Seabrook and The Serpent and the Rainbow (1985). Pepso2 (talk) 22:45, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

ah, well thank you all

Dude! I've been thinking about Zombie Attacks to! You can use the movie "I Am Legend (film)" as a great example of what to do.

I for one, plan to get a lot of Amo, guns, supplies, and head up to the Mountains. My idea is mostly based around the movie "Red Dawn", but that's about World War 3 in America, but that's also a good example. Video games like "Left 4 Dead" are good examples on how to kill zombies. Um, if you do plan to run, and people in the Government become Zombies, throw away your cell phones and GPS's, because they can track you that way. Ha. Play "Polka Music" to see if that'll kill zombies like how it killed Aliens in "Mars Attacks."

Ha, ha. Hope that helped. Moptopstyle1 01:00, 10 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't think I am Legend is of much help, since the creatures in that film don't come out in the daylight, meaning they were more likely vampires rather than zombies. And the original version of the film and the book they were both loosely based on specifically considered them vampires.  99.166.95.142 (talk) 16:34, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

well my plan so far, is to get about 7 of the best people i know that can use a gun and know a lil millitary tactics as i do. we'll head to walmart super center (which has guns, ammo, food, and entertainment. as well as lighterfluid and fun zombie killing stuff) post up there for a wile then dicide what to do from there.--Talk Shugoːː 18:23, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Oh, yeah, I forgot the creatures in "I Am Legend" don't come out in the day time. My bad. Ha. The Wal-Mart idea is brilliant. Honestly, when Zombies are on the prowl, you pretty much have to break the law and steal. So, stores like "Wal-Mart" "Big 5", and more sports stores, are great for packing up on ammo and guns. Also look into getting supplies (ex. food, bottled water) at local gas stations if you immediately started running. You should most likely drive a pick up truck so you can carry people and stuff in the back. "Red Dawn" is a great example of the survival techniques to use, but again, the movie is about World War 3, NOT zombies. Moptopstyle1 ("I Feel Fine.") (talk) 03:14, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
 * One would have to get to Walmart before the outbreak really took hold, because you wouldnt be the only person with this idea. Not to mention that have a lot of glass windows that are easily broken and a lot of entrances that are not easily defendable, so you could not just camp out there. A high rise building would be the best place to camp out if you are able to destroy the stairs from the first floor and disable the elevator (and still have a reliable way to enter and exit). Definitely read the Zombie Survival Guide. Livewireo (talk) 17:26, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

well, see me and 7 of my friends that i picked out only know about the wal-mart idea. and as for the doors and windows, there not a problem. you see the interece after has a steel cage door that comes down and locks. the only thing i have to realy worry about is the back. the truck loading area, but its not likly that alot of zombies would go to the back of the building. and this wal-mart has a garage, for fixing cars and maybe even gas if im lucky. but i would stay up in the security room when i sleep anyway. and im sure i know what your thinking... only 7 of your friends? but tomany heads that dont know what thee doing just makes more responcipilty --Talk Shugoːː 18:55, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

Runescape question
What does NPC stand for?Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 20:26, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * "Non-playable character"; you may see it written as "non-player character". See also RuneScape Wikia. Xenon54 / talk / 20:35, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * NPC would have been a good place to look for this. DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:20, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Note that it's not exclusive to RuneScape; any game can use the term. Vimescarrot (talk) 21:21, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I have never heard "non-playable character"; D&D pioneered the term, AFAIK, and it always was "non-player character". Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:12, 9 December 2009 (UTC)