Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 March 3

= March 3 =

Flamenco
Hi all, I was listening to the "Vitoria Suite" today and I realized I don't really have much flamenco in my music library...care to recommend some? I'm not after Rodrigo y Gabriela type stuff. Not that it's bad, it's just I think I would like something a bit less produced. Perhaps similar to what sort of music Carlos Saura used in his movie(s) about flamenco, or perhaps from some of the segments of Latcho Drom? Thanks for the help.98.248.125.228 (talk) 03:57, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Spike Witwicky holding a telephone wire
I realise it might be inappropriate to ask a question about realism in a work of fiction, because in fiction, everything is possible, but I'll take a chance anyway. In the Transformers comic, Spike Witwicky visits his dad and amazes him by being able to trace a telephone call simply by holding the wire in his hands, which is explained by him having become a Headmaster partner. Now assume for the sake of suspension of disbelief that Spike has magical Headmaster powers that allow him to feel the individual electrical pulses in the wire through his fingertips and decipher where the telephone call is going to based on them. But isn't a telephone wire coated in plastic, which acts as insulation? Is it in any way possible to feel the electricity through that, without going into the realm of magic as in Harry Potter, not as in science fiction? J I P &#124; Talk 18:59, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Electromagnetic induction? Yes, it's possible (assuming he has magic electromagnetic fingers). I thought you were going to ask "how does tracing a phone call work, and can you do it without access to the exchange?" which I don't know the answer to. (He could feasibly read the dialing tones, of course, if it's an outgoing call.) 81.131.23.214 (talk) 19:39, 3 March 2011 (UTC)


 * His magic electromagnetic fingers could let him detect the caller ID sent at the beginning of the phone call, and use his Photographic Memory power to remember the address in the phone book that corresponds to that number. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:56, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Like an extraordinarily sensitive Current clamp. The twisted pairs are supposed to limit that sort of signal leakage, but they're not perfect, so you just have to assume that he's very sensitive.  APL (talk) 05:30, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

NBA Court
This season I've noticed a new line while watching NBA games. There is an arc centered under each basket, about 4 feet in radius. What is it's purpose, and when was it added? Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 19:19, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Our article on basketball courts calls it a "restricted area arc" but doesn't have much info on it. Dismas |(talk) 19:53, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * See also Key_(basketball). Nanonic (talk) 20:02, 3 March 2011 (UTC)

Lyrics of Carrickfergus
The song Carrickfergus is about a man. Yet in the first verse he asks for a Handsome boatman ( Van Morrison changed this to a Handy boatman.) In the last verse he asks for all you young Men to lay me down ( Van Morrison changed this to all you Maidens. Can you explain this contradiction. Many thanks Moatfield —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.7.231.227 (talk) 23:27, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The first line was possibly originally "It was a noble woman". See Carrickfergus (song) and The Water Is Wide (song). Rmhermen (talk) 00:16, 4 March 2011 (UTC)