Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 July 10

= July 10 =

gregory abbott
I have to question the dob of 1964 for singer Gregory Abbott if he is 47 now and on Freda Payne's page list him as her son's father and the their son was born in 1978 then Mr. Abbott was 14 when their child was born. This is not adding up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.224.38.220 (talk) 02:52, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I have changed the birth year of Gregory Abbott from 1964 to 1954 to agree with sources not derived from Wikipedia. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:10, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

How can I donate directly to help with the East African famine?
Is there a way to donate directly to help the situation in East Africa? The best solution I have found is to donate to Mercy Corps, but I can't specifically request that my money be used to help with the East African famine. I would prefer to not donate to Oxfam because I don't think they use their money efficiently. Are there any charities accepting money specifically for East Africa? I would also prefer a Canadian charity, but that's not especially important. Thanks. Eiad77 (talk) 06:08, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I donated at the British Red Cross, which appears to have specific funds for specific needs. The Canadian Red Cross don't appear to differentiate as clearly on their web site, but I think they still have separate causes rather than a single pot. Though actually I wonder if it wouldn't be better to let them decide where to allocate donations, as they have an awareness of all the needs, not just the ones that are currently making headlines. --ColinFine (talk) 10:20, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Click here for a list of Canadian charities for international relief. Scroll down to those that work in Africa. I found links to 6 charities. You can e-mail to each to ask which countries they work in. They are probably looking for both volunteers and donations. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:42, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Just in case anyone is wondering, I decided to go with CARE which is accepting money specifically for the East African Famine: https://care.donorportal.ca/Donation/DonationDetails.aspx?L=en-CA&G=36&F=605&T=GENER%E2%80%9D — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eiad77 (talk • contribs) 17:43, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * If you are concerned about how money given to charity is being used, the places it is spend, who it is given to, what it is used for and particularly how much goes on administrative costs, bribes, salaries and such like, the best option is to create your own charity and thus control every aspect of what you spend the money on. Though, perhaps this is more work than you are willing to put in just now? 85.210.113.229 (talk) 19:08, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * It's also ridiculously inefficient. The money you would spend on establishing the charity and setting up the infrastructure necessary to do anything would be far better spent by an already established charity. --Tango (talk) 21:13, 10 July 2011 (UTC)

In the UK the Disasters Emergency Commission (DEC) seem very efficient, and you can easily contribute by credit or debit card on line where ever you are. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.211.159.54 (talk) 06:30, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Oxfam's in DEC and the OP wanted to avoid Oxfam. But is Oxfam really less efficient than other major charities? Itsmejudith (talk) 10:45, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Perhaps Oxfam's efficeincy is not why the OP wishes to avoid them? Googlemeister (talk) 20:29, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The OP specifically said "I would prefer to not donate to Oxfam because I don't think they use their money efficiently" so it seems rather likely the OP's view of Oxfam's inefficiency is one of the key factors in their desire not to donate to Oxfam. Nil Einne (talk) 22:38, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

If you'd like a small, efficient charity that has specialist knowledge of East Africa and makes a real difference there, community bu community, try Build Africa. If you like the small/efficient values, but prefer your money to go to something more emergency-like, try Medical Emergency Relief International. --Dweller (talk) 09:42, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

Parlez-vous français?
Is there an image related to the subject in apple headquarters? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mangesh Krishna (talk • contribs) 15:35, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Are you referring to Apple Inc. or Apple Records? One is significantly closer to France than the other...  Or are you referring to another "apple" entirely?  Dismas |(talk) 15:37, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Given the title of the thread, maybe the OP is refering to this famous painting. It was done by René Magritte and I have tried searching and cannot find where the original is currently located.  Magritte did many paintings of apples, though I don't know if any are at Apple Inc. or Apple Records headquarters, or even if that is what the OP is talking about.  Just a stab in the dark.  -- Jayron  32  18:38, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * An example of Magritte's Ceci n'est pas une pomme hangs at Hopkins Custot Gallery in London. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 12:15, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

Different sized boats
Those inflatable boats, dinghys is it they are called now, the little ones for playing around on at the beach rather than the big professional ones, and specifically those that are coloured red and black, does anyone know what different sizes they come in, the only one I ever saw on sale seemed rather small, whilst those I have seen elsewhere recently looked quite a bit bigger.

85.210.113.229 (talk) 19:05, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I guess you are looking for these. 99.24.223.58 (talk) 22:17, 10 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia has an article about Dinghy which is a word attested to in 1810. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 16:16, 13 July 2011 (UTC)

Is there a Wikipedia Reference Desk in the Spanish language Wikipedia?
I can't find it in the Spanish language Wikipedia. Willminator (talk) 20:07, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, the page you're looking for is Wikipedia:Consultas. --Antiquary (talk) 20:41, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * You can find the various Reference Desk pages in other languages by going to the main Reference Desk page and looking at the interlanguage links. The Mark of the Beast (talk) 20:43, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks. Hmm, there doesn't seem to be a lot of questions posted there nor a lot of answers to those questions posted there, in the Wikipedia:Consultas, but again, thank you. Willminator (talk) 21:37, 10 July 2011 (UTC)