Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2014 May 23

= May 23 =

Best Illuminati revival attempt so far?
Which attempt to revive the Illuminati has had the closest fidelity to the original? 114.84.134.219 (talk) 04:58, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * By definition we would never know! Fnord. Adam Bishop (talk) 02:04, 24 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Occupy Wallstreet? Replace priests and kings with career politicians and the 1% and the goals are similar enough. Ian.thomson (talk) 02:17, 24 May 2014 (UTC)
 * who said they were defunct? SCNR Asmrulz (talk) 08:10, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

Anybody know the history of music?
What's the earliest the melody* of Around the World (by ATC) could've existed on piano without straining credulity? *The piano and xylophone-like instrument alone. I would expect the tempo to be slower, that counts. Honorable mention for playing at least some measures separately (i.e. with gaps between them). But if you make further concessions to the composing styles of earlier times it starts to become a different song..

This got me thinking, what's the earliest (known) era with the 4 Intel notes in their music (in real life)? (are they copyrighted?) Again I'd consider a different tempo to fully count. The 3 Duracell notes? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 08:16, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * As in notes from their jingles? Note that I can't answer this, not even a note of it, but I'll at least be able to play along better if someone could tell me what this question is about. Just interested in following the discussion, that's all. IBE (talk) 12:33, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Are they still jingles if they're 3 or 4 notes long? They're not even catchy. IBE, remember the Duracell commercials with the 3 notes jumping in a bipolar manner? Remember when most peoples' PCs were very slow and Pentiums increased number fast (no staying at 4 for many years) and they advertised the new chips like Apple did iPods? That was the heyday of the Intel notes. Ah, I thought that without copyright unrelated products (like hotels) could use Intel's distinctive features, nevermind, Intel is too famous for that. So probably legal to make a doorbell of it as long as you never try to sell it. Maybe. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 14:57, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Cool, maybe in the future you'll buy an iDoorbell and upload different tunes off the Internet, or in the case of Intel do your own on some kind of Fisher Price toy. And on a different note - I still think my PC is slow, and I'd swear it reads my spacebar key in a different order to what I type. IBE (talk) 15:32, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * The future is now. The iChime, Musical Doorbell, the excitingly named Customizable Wireless Music Door Bell with 90MB SD Card and my favourite, just for the name alone, the KAKADU. CBWeather, Talk, Seal meat for supper? 02:48, 24 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Do you mean "what is the earliest published song that uses the same basic riff as xylophone part from 'Around the world' by ATC"? If not, what do you mean? It certainly does not strain my credulity to think someone played those notes on a harpsichord in 1700, but of course it would be hard do find documentation... SemanticMantis (talk) 16:11, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * I mean "Could this song be written in XXXX AD?" Our XXXX AD – no "Roman Empire doesn't fall, the Industrial Revolution comes sooner and synthesizers are invented by 1482" kind of thing. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by uses the same basic riff. I'm thinking of playing it exactly till it repeats 3-4 times (48 or 64 notes I believe), then playing the few seconds of piano (appears about 2/3rds the way through). If the pitch rise of that part is impossible, i.e. continuous (hard to tell) then replace that with what it's hard to tell from. Optionally, remove that part's volume change, lower general bpm, turn monophony into chords (or is the xylophone polyphonic already?, I can't tell) and adding a natural left hand part that doesn't really alter it. (See here for the opposite of that). 1:00-1:25. Is your answer still the same? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:37, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Oh I see, you seem to be interested in the technical aspects of the sound production, not just the composition. I was only focusing on the main motif, and not the song as a whole. I don't know enough about the limitations of older instruments, so now I have no answer :) SemanticMantis (talk) 16:14, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

What is going on in Thailand?
I'm wondering if anybody could give a very brief synopsis perhaps in a few short paragraphs as to what is going on there. Thanks --AboutFace 22 (talk) 16:13, 23 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Here you can read about some of the premices of the current situation. Dec 10 2013, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announcement she will not be stepping down. On May 7, 2014, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed Mrs Shinawatra from office in consequence of the unconstitutional transfer of a top security officer Thawil Pliensri as National Security Council secretary-general in 2011 . Tuesday May 20, the army of Thailand declares state of emergency, Thursday May 22 the army announces military takeover of the government. Alleged reasons are to put an end to seven months of political turmoil. This nationalgeographic.com article from last January gives some more background. --Askedonty (talk) 17:57, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * You can usually easily find some summarizing background reports to current events at BBC News Online too, for example: "Why is Thailand under military rule?", "Thailand army's pivotal role in politics", or a timeline of the coup as it happened, etc (including more links). ---Sluzzelin talk  22:06, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

Benjamin L. Marks
Who is Benjamin L. Marks? He is pictured here with Sanford B. Dole and cabinet. --KAVEBEAR (talk) 21:53, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * An amusing Google-hunt tells me that this is a misspelling of Benjamin Lodge Marx, a lawyer who worked in Honolulu, died in 1959, and among other things published in 1935 a pamphlet called Recollections of the republic of Hawaii; here on Google Books. You can also find some information about him here on ancestry.com. Geneologytrails.com gives the following biographical information as of 1917: MARX, BENJAMIN LODGE, lawyer, Honolulu, T. H.; born in San Francisco, Cal., June 20, 1870; son of David and Margaret W. (Houston) Marx; married Mary Eloise Castle, daughter of Alfred Castle, in Honolulu, November 28, 1900; one child:  Benjamin Lodge Marx, Jr.  Private secretary to President Sanford B. Dole and secretary Executive Council of Republic of Hawaii, 1894-98; secretary of commission to draft Organic Act, 1898; admitted to bar 1899, and formed partnership with Francis M. Hatch, same year; has practised law ever since under various partnerships; member of firm of Frear, Prosser, Anderson and Marx.  Prominent in musical circles of Honolulu, being president of Honolulu Symphony Society; author of article on Origin of Hawaiian Music, printed in Thrum’s Annual.  Member of Company B, National Guard, during revolution of 1895 and member of Mounted Reserve.  Is member of Pacific, Commercial, Hawaii Polo & Racing, Oahu Country Clubs, Beretania and Neighborhood Tennis Clubs, Hawaiian Historical Society, Honolulu Bar Association, Honolulu Lodge No. 409, F. & A. M. [Source:  "Men of Hawaii", vol 1, Edited by John William Siddell, 1917, p. 193. Transcribed by Jo-Anne Kabeary]Looie496 (talk) 22:25, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. No wonder I couldn't find anything.--KAVEBEAR (talk) 22:59, 23 May 2014 (UTC)