Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 March 23

= March 23 =

house location in Mill Valley
I was watching this video and saw a nice Victorian house. Is there really one located in Mill Valley?142.255.103.121 (talk) 06:58, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * There could very well be, though verifying the exact location of that specific house may be difficult. Mill Valley, California (which is what I assume you're referring to) is a community with a population of over 13,000 people.  As such, there's likely at least 2000-3000 (more or less) single family homes in that community; and many American cities and towns have a wide variety of home architecture.  If you want to know specifically about that one house, and you've got enough time to search for it, Google Street View is your best shot; finding it would require you search the entire community by brute force (literally, "walking" around the entire community with Google Street View).  -- Jayron  32  19:26, 23 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Our article Too Close for Comfort does say that a new opening for the third season was filmed in Marin County. Rojomoke (talk) 19:44, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Really, REALLY old British song
Quite a while ago, while browsing at the library, I've come across a sheet-music "broadside" of a really old British song (by "really old" I mean from about the time of the Hundred Year War), which AFAIR was called "The Legend of Normandy"; the song was about a mythical castle in Normandy garrisoned by the ghosts of its French defenders, but the only line I remember is the one that repeats as the very last line of each verse, "He will ring the bell" (referring to the sentry on the battlements). Also, after carefully reading the notes, I concluded that its melody probably sounds either like this (minus verses 2 and 4), or (less likely) like that. However, I was unable to find any recordings of this song, and I couldn't find the old broadside ever again despite all my efforts. Anyone else heard of this song? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 19:44, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Narrative, secular music from the middle ages are generally called Ballads (the modern usage of the word to refer to a slow love song is an innovation and a usage unrelated to the original meaning of the term). Traditional English music has been categorized by the Roud Folk Song Index, so that may help you in your search.  I've not worked with that index, but there may be ways to narrow your search using era, subject, or form of the song.  -- Jayron  32  20:05, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I'll try the index. BTW, in the country music scene, they still use the term "ballad" in its original sense (as in, e.g. "The Ballad of Paul Revere", or "The Ballad of the Alamo"). 24.23.196.85 (talk) 04:33, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

Clannad singing Beethoven???
Is it true what I've heard, that this hit song for Clannad was actually one of Beethoven's earliest works? Or is it just an urban legend? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 19:57, 23 March 2013 (UTC)


 * It didn't ring any bells with me, but it's possible. --   Jack of Oz   [Talk]  20:17, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Obscure game somewhere in the Eastern US
A while back (6 months?) on an NPR program called It's Only A Game, I heard a piece about a game that's played in some neighborhood of some Eastern US city. It's really only popular in that area and they have sort of a yearly block party dedicated to playing a tournament of the game. I'd like to remember what the name of the game is but I can't and I can't think of what city it's played in. I want to say either Baltimore, Maryland or either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The name of the game is something a bit silly sounding like Piddly or Purdy or something along those lines. I remember the sound of it have a double-T or double-D in the middle followed by a long E as in the examples in the last sentence. And it's played, from what I remember, a bit like bocce. Except in this game you have a wooden stick that is whittled down to just a few inches long and the goal is for it to land on, or as close as possible, a line drawn on the pavement some number of feet down the street.

Thanks for any help, Dismas |(talk) 23:36, 23 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Never mind. I found it.  It's called Dainty and is played in Schnitzelburg, Louisville.  Dismas |(talk) 23:50, 23 March 2013 (UTC)


 * We have an article on a remarkably similar game, which is called Tip-cat in England, the pointy stick being the "cat". Perhaps somebody could add its Germano-American relative to the article? Alansplodge (talk) 15:28, 24 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Other similar English games are Nipsy (played in and around Barnsley, South Yorkshire) and Knur-and-spell, all games which have been claimed as the precursor of cricket. --TammyMoet (talk) 17:28, 24 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, we have an article on knurr and spell which is closer to the southern game of bat and trap than to tip-cat. Alansplodge (talk) 02:12, 25 March 2013 (UTC)