Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 June 14

= June 14 =

Help locating a copy of a theater performance
Good day,

I'm desperately trying to track down a complete video footage copy of Trevor Nunn's 2006 performance of "It Ain't Necessarily So". I actually found out about the performance by stumbling upon it on youtube. Since I stumbled upon it on youtube that suggests a video copy of the performance should exist somewhere.

The song was apart of Trevor Nunn's Porgy and Bess performance of 2006. I've managed to stumble upon a DVD of Nunnn's work from the 1990's, but nothing more recent then that. I have fallen in love with the production and hope I can find a DVD copy of the video footage to purchase.

The key actor in the production was O. T. Fagbenle, who completely stole the show. Links to everything I have been able to find thus far are listed below. Please, any aid anyone could provide would be highly appreciated.

Performance Fragments On Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLoNi4qHPg&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQBWiCDz9KU&feature=related

1993 Version of Performance Copy

http://www.amazon.com/George-Gershwin-Trevor-Rattle-Glyndebourne/dp/B00005LIN0

News Articles Relevant To The Production

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article612981.ece http://www.playbill.com/news/article/101051-Trevor-Nunns-London-Porgy-and-Bess-Will-Come-to-Broadway

— Comment added by Travza (talk) 10:08, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

univ in canada
May i please know the universities in canada that offer MSc/Masters in cognitive neuroscience — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.224.149.10 (talk) 10:54, 14 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I thought that Lakehead University offered that through their Northern Ontario School of Medicine program, but I can't seem to track down anything definite for you. If you check their website and course calendar, maybe you'll have better luck. 64.235.97.146 (talk) 13:48, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * According to this list, there are no masters programs in Canada with a precise "cognitive neuroscience" label. However, the following four universities offer masters degrees in neuroscience programs whose names include the word "cognitive":  University of Manitoba, University of Saskatchewan, University of Western Ontario, and Queen's University.  There are a number of other neuroscience programs in that list that might interest you, but you will need to research them to know better.  Marco polo (talk) 13:47, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

A Brave New World easy to read?
I quite enjoyed Orwell's Nineteen-Eightyfour and I'm looking to read A Brave New World. I found 1984 to be very easy to read and quite enjoyable. Is A Brave New World also easy to read like 1984? Or is it much more "thick" like Dickens' Great Expectations? Thanks. Acceptable (talk) 22:38, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Probably easier, in that it's not relentlessly oppressive the way 1984 is. It's subtler and at times it's rather funny. You might benefit from Googling characters' names, as they're deliberately chosen to be meaningful (to someone in 1931). -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 22:54, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Definitely worth reading, I would go a bit further than Finlay McWalter and say that, although both novels are rooted in their time, addressing contemporary concerns and developments, Brave New World has aged a bit more so in that regard than 1984. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. However don't be tempted to adopt the use of the word "pneumatic"; people will rightly tut. FlowerpotmaN &middot;( t ) 23:44, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Island (novel) was, to me, a lot better than A Brave New World or 1984. Just sayin'. Schyler  ( one language ) 23:48, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I would tend to agree, however that one probably falls under the OPs definition of Dickensian "thickness". --Saddhiyama (talk) 07:29, 15 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I found it an easy read. And, unlike the evil of the government(s) in 1984, in BNW the government is more amoral, they just do whatever they think will work best.  This seems more like where we are now. StuRat (talk) 01:14, 15 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I think I was in high school when I read BNW and found it to be a pretty good read. Dismas |(talk) 07:53, 15 June 2011 (UTC)


 * I suggest BNW first, and then Island. Huxley takes many of the same themes (e.g. population control, drug use) and inverts them. So first he explores how a hedonistic dystopia would embody the concepts, then how a much less controlling utopia would. Both are easy to read - a straightforward narrative structure, C20 prose. BrainyBabe (talk) 08:37, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Using the rationale that the book BNW is out of copyright in Australia, you can read it free online either here or here. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:52, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * You should read it, it's an excellent book. If anything, in 1984 you get messed up in the extent you should support the protagonist, in Brave New World* it's more. It's a very easy read, all things considered, although you might need to stop and ask: what's actually wrong with this? (Or maybe not.) *It isn't "A Brave New World", which seems more natural, because it is a quotation of Shakespeare. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 18:41, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * FWIW: "O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't!" (The Tempest V, i). Wikipedia has an article: List of quotes from Shakespeare in Brave New World.    D b f i r s   08:12, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

I've seen the future and it's quite dull
All this talk about mass transit, including trains, has gotten me excited over the past couple years. It seems more reliable and less stress-inducing than driving a car. That is, until the theory is put into practice. Let me elaborate.

In July I need to get from a home in San Jose, California to Merced, California from where I know I can take a bus to Wawona in Yosemite. It is very discouraging to see how utterly decentralized California's mass transit system is. Between CalTrain YARTS and BART (I can't imagine why they didn't call it S-FARTS) I can't get a good idea on how to accomplish this task. I am getting discouraged and am wanting to simply drive the 4 hours.

This is my final destination to see if I am missing some super-helpful website or a government organization that accomplishes my transit needs.

Am I to abandon my hopes of a scenic and traffic-free ride to Yosemite? Schyler ( one language ) 23:57, 14 June 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, the easy way to do it logistically is to use Amtrak, although the route is not as direct. You can get on the Capitol Corridor in San Jose, transfer to the San Joaquin in Martinez, then in Merced there is a special Amtrak bus to Yosemite. From San Jose it should take 6-7 hours total, I think -- and it's pretty scenic once you get past Richmond. Looie496 (talk) 00:15, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Given amtrack prices at that point you'd usually be better to take an airplane... HominidMachinae (talk) 01:17, 15 June 2011 (UTC)


 * In California, public transit is organized by county. Many counties' transit systems provide decent connections with those of adjacent counties.  I once successfully traveled from San Francisco to Big Sur by public train and bus without using Amtrak.  Unfortunately, however, there is break in the chain of connecting transit systems between San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County.  That means that it is impossible to travel by public bus from Stockton (which you can reach easily from San Jose by ACE) to Modesto.  If you could only get to Modesto, you could connect by county bus to Merced.  Really, your only options are a circuitous and expensive trip by Amtrak, or a somewhat more direct and more affordable trip by Greyhound.  Marco polo (talk) 01:35, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

You think YOU have a problem, try living in the UK for thoroughly disorganised public transport.Artjo (talk) 04:28, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * At least Great Britain has [www.traveline.info Traveline]:
 * Traveline Information Ltd is a partnership of transport operators and local authorities formed to provide impartial and comprehensive information about public transport. It operates in Scotland, England and Wales.
 * Do other countries have something like that? BrainyBabe (talk) 08:41, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Bah, at least you all have public transport in some form. If I want to catch a bus that goes anywhere other then a school (and those are not running this time of year), I would have to walk 6 miles.  Horray for suburban America.  Googlemeister (talk) 15:33, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The [Man in Seat Sixty-One] knows a lot of stuff even about the USA. About trains, anyway, all over the world, and about ferries, not about buses unfortunately. And there's WikiTravel. What about asking the Yosemite National Park tourist info people to work out a route for you? Is promoting sustainable transport not in their mission statement? It might be worth asking. Itsmejudith (talk) 16:40, 15 June 2011 (UTC)
 * After the reports of ticket scalpers (er, "brokers") buying up the campsite reservations there, you might find it as hard to stay in Yosemite as to get there. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 18:19, 15 June 2011 (UTC)