Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 January 18

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January 18

How do I stop Signatures on t-shirts coming of in the Wash?

How do I stop Signatures on t-shirts coming of in the Wash? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.143.52.10 (talk) 00:27, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Don't wash them? I don't know of any other way. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 04:14, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

What sort of signatures? If Autographs you could supply your hero with an indelible pen to write on your shirt.--TreeSmiler (talk) 04:19, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I just cant believe theres no article on that!!--TreeSmiler (talk) 04:20, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

What's so hard to believe? An article for "indelible" would simply be a dictionary definition and this is an encyclopedia. There is a Wiktionary article for it at indelible. We do have an article on Sharpie markers though which is a good solution for our t-shirted friend. Dismas|^(talk) 05:17, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I think there should be an article on Indelible ink . There could be a lot to say about it.--TreeSmiler (talk) 15:51, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

So start one, or add a section to the rather sad* ink article. * rather sad is the opinion of this editor, not the publishers of Wikipedia --LarryMac | Talk 16:00, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Coat the signature with wax. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.2.51 (talk) 07:03, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

If the signature's that meaningful to you, then you've got a souvenir, not an item of clothing, and you should frame it and put it on your wall rather than wear it. --Sean 22:16, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

His Dark Materials

I have three questions to ask you about His Dark Materials:

1. Why did Philip Pullman, the author of His Dark Materials, write His Dark Materials? Why did he write such a series of novels? Why did he write such a series of novels about such people, such things, and such events, etc? Why would anybody write such a series of novels? Why would anybody write such a series of novels about such people, such things, and such events, etc? Why would anybody dare to write, think of writing, or dare think of writing such a series?

2. I’ve heard that the series His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman is very anti-Christian and many Christians consider it bad. So what? It’s just only a story. It’s not really true. Stories aren't necessarily true. The readers of His Dark Materials know that it’s not true. The author knows that it’s not true and he knows that the story's readers know that it’s not true. The readers know that the story isn't true when they read the series of novels and all the anti-Christian stuff in them and the author knows that they know that.

3. Another very famous series of novels that is considered very anti-Christian and is considered bad by many Christians is the series Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. But what’s the difference? Many Christians claim that Harry Potter is bad because it contains too much witchcraft, and that witchcraft is evil because it comes from and is associated with the Devil, Satan. But what about His Dark Materials? Speaking of the Devil, Satan, but what about His Dark Materials? What about comparing Harry Potter and His Dark Materials? For example, what about comparing their authors, J. K. Rowling and Philip Pullman? Also for example, what about comparing Harry Potter and His Dark Materials in how anti-Christian they are and how and why are they anti-Christian? Which one of the two series would you consider to be more anti-Christian or would Christians consider worse?

Bowei Huang (talk) 00:49, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, This Dark Materials is different from Harry Potter because it says that the church is basically evil and abusing its power in order to destroy something they think is evil (which is in reality good, i.e. Dust). Also, you do know *spoiler* that God dies in the third book? That is somewhat worse than unexplained magic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chris16447 (talk • contribs) 01:06, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

(edit conflict)

1) Why did Pullman write HDM? He's a writer, and he had an idea. Pullman himself (citation needed) has implied that there was some intent to promote the idea of thinking and deciding things for oneself, and this, as well as his atheist background, probably had some influence on his choice of characters' personalities, plot points, etc. However, the intricacies of an authors mind are complex, and can't be deciphered with much accuracy. Imagination is a wonderful thing.

2)As mentioned, Pullman does not hide that he does not approve much of organised religion. What many parents are worried about when they declaim his books are that his ideas will influence their children away from their parents' religion, because children sometimes have difficulty separating fact from fiction. Also, although the stories are fictional, the ideas are not necessarily fictional, and may influence the reader contrary to the ideas their parents want to instill in them.

3)The two series' have been equally declaimed as anti-Christian, but for slightly different reasons. Harry Potter is declaimed for promoting the occult and for a lack of otherwise religious content. HDM is declaimed for more specifically anti-religious ideas and content. The main reason they have drawn attention is that they are also very popular. A more anti-Christian book that is not popular would not draw such attention. In terms of which of thetwo series' are more anti-Chistian, it would have to be HDM over HP, because of Pullman's more overt anti-organised religious background, while Rowling maintains a connection with the Church of England and maintains that there is nothing anti-Christian or dangerous about her novels.

4) My own opinion - better to let children read it and then discuss it with them, so you can talk about what you think is right/wrong about them (whatever your opinion). Children often love to talk about things with adults like this. /soapbox

Steewi (talk) 01:10, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

2 & 3: Pullman is known to be an atheist and has claimed he has put atheist themes in the book. That's enough for most parents and separates him from Rowling. Don't be fooled into thinking that most people who want to ban books have actually taken the time to read them themselves or to really understand them. They get a catch-phrase, a bad idea, and run with it. Personally I think it's great—there's no better way to get kids to read something than to tell them it is seditious, there's nothing more exciting than a banned book. Only idiots would try to discourage children from reading something by telling them it is dangerous. If you don't want a kid to read something, tell them it is a "classic" and have them "identify three themes" from it. As Lionel Trilling pointed out, there's no better way to suck the soul out of literature than to assign it in secondary school. It's worth noting, as I believe was done recently in Entertainment Weekly of all places, that Pullman's book and themes are explicitly lifted from Paradise Lost by John Milton, an anti-Catholic screed of its own, though a "classic" that most people will never touch outside of college level English courses, and even then they will not touch it deeply. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 04:07, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

As a Christian who is not all that keen on organised religions, I have read Pullman and found his picture of "God" really quite amusing, but I was not offended because Pullman was obviously making fun of false gods invented by humans ("the church"?). I have read only some of J K Rowling, so reserve judgement until I read the final book, but I found nothing anti-Christian in what I have read. I consider both authors to be outstanding story-tellers and would recommend their works to all children. If parents are worried about the content, they should read the books themselves, then they will be able to discuss any issues with their children.78.32.74.24 (talk) 13:50, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Comparing Lord Asriel with the Authority, God, would be like comparing Dumbledore with Voldemort!

As for reading the novels, what if it is an adult who reads His Dark Materials, not a child? Bowei Huang (talk) 00:48, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

You say that the series His Dark Materials is just only a story. So is Harry Potter. (I've heard many people say that Harry Potter is just only a story too.) So is The Chronicles Of Narnia. So is The Lord Of The Rings. Brickfield 23:48, 19 January 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Brickfield (talk • contribs)

For an adult to read His Dark Materials, I would recommend that they be read with both an open and a critical mind. Being aware of their status as fiction is important, while also being aware of the the author's intent. If the reader is having trouble understanding the concepts and issues involved, it is as important as with a child that they discuss the issues with someone they trust (who may be a friend, an authority figure, at a book club, etc.). An adult has access to many resources such as libraries and the internet to educate themselves with regards to the issues. They also should not feel ashamed if they don't understand parts of the book, but address the things they don't understand. It is probably better to read the book and make a decision based on their own and others' opinions than to avoid the book on the off chance that it is dangerous. (This doesn't apply to other things, such as hard drugs or murder, but with a book it is somewhat different). Steewi (talk) 11:20, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

God Being an Angel

When you say ideas, do you mean for example where it says that God is not really a god, but is actually an angel? Who knows, maybe God isn't a really a god but is actually an angel, in the real world, in reality?

When the story His Dark Materials said that God is not really a god but is actually an angel, it meant and was talking about the Christian god. But could it also as well be possible that the god of another religion actually exists, but he is not really a god but is actually an angel? There are some people who claim that Allah, the god of Islam, is not really a god but is actually an angel. Did you know that? See section 29 in page 20 of the article Islam - A Case Of Mistaken Identity. Bowei Huang (talk) 23:38, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

This is where it is difficult to answer, because it comes down to a matter of faith. There is the possibility that God is an angel, as much as the logical possibility of God's existence in the first place. I have met some (of Christian faith) who assert that Allah is actually a demon under the guidance of Lucifer (a minority opinion among Christians, I believe). From a historical perspective, the El of Judeo-Christianity can be traced to the common Semitic pantheon of the ancient Middle East. From this it is not far to step to claim that the Christian God is just one of many competitors. This is a claim made by a number of people, and is used fictionally in Douglas Rushkoff's comic series Testament. Most Christians, as monotheists would probably disagree with that idea on the basis that there are no other gods that actually exist.

In addition there is the concept of gods gaining power by the believers who worship them. Under this reality, the Christian God is powerful because of his many followers (along with Allah). The previously more powerful Judean YHWH lost much of his power in WWII because of the holocaust of his believers. Steewi (talk) 11:30, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

For which see the excellent book Small Gods. DuncanHill (talk) 23:59, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

I bet Muslims would be as angry and offended by Christians saying that Allah is actually the Biblical Devil or Satan, or one of his demons, as Christians would be by His Dark Materials and its author Philip Pullman in it saying that the Christian god is not really a god but is actually an angel. Brickfield 23:55, 20 January 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Brickfield (talk • contribs)

But what about comparing His Dark Materials saying that God is not really a god but is actually an angel, with Christians saying that Allah is the Biblical Devil or Satan, or one of his demons?

What do you mean, the "common Semitic pantheon of the ancient Middle East"? 60.242.166.182 (talk) 03:47, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

The selection of Gods and Goddesses that were worshipped in the area by the different cultural groups in the period before Judaism grew stronger. Not all of them were worshipped by every tribe. Often one tribe had their tribal God(s) (or Goddess(es)), but there was a degree of transferrence between them. See Category:West Semitic gods and Template:Middle Eastern deities. Steewi (talk) 05:25, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

I really don't see how it's so offensive.. the "church" in the book doesn't really do anything religious as far as the reader sees, they just run the ruling council of the society. Also the books are so outlandish.. daemons, an arctic base where they experiment on children, giant fighting polar bears, a fairy grasshopper, a knife that can cut through space.. how do people even keep a straight face, let alone be offended? --f f r o t h 12:40, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Freaky Friday A Teen Movie

Hi,it`s the physics magazine guy I don`t have a Physics Question this time.But,My son has a project on the novel Speak. For,the final part of the project He is so supposed to review a teen movie with similar themes as the book. My,son wants to do the film Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan the problem is I don`t If that`s a film that could be considered a teen movie.Or not should we watch our dvd of Freaky Friday togheter or should we go to Blockbusters and rent Freaky Friday instead. I know I shouldn`t be asking this question at the refrence desk,but I don`t know where else to turn. I promise,this will be the first and last time I`ll ask a question like this here at the refrence desk. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.161.137.149 (talk) 02:27, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

While I'd consider Freaky Friday a teen movie, I'm skeptical that it has themes similar to those of Speak -- of course, if your son can draw the parallels, then my skepticism is irrelevant. I have no idea what you mean by watching your DVD versus renting the movie. If you own the movie, then obviously watch that copy. — Lomn 06:06, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Note that there are two versions of Freaky Friday - one made a couple of years ago, and one a couple of decades ago. They have the same storyline, but your son might not appreciate the fine points of an 80s movie. Steewi (talk) 07:23, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I really meant to say Mean Girls

The film,I really wanted to mention was Mean Girls you see I put down Freaky Friday twice by,mistake I guess with all The Physics Questions I give you guys you must be surprised that I wasn`t paying attention to what I was writing. That,all I had to say since I know this is the refrence desk. I`m sorry If I`m wasting your time

Sincerly The Physics Magazine Guy —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.23.74.197 (talk) 00:47, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Mean Girls is definitely a teen movie. Where you source the movie is up to you of course. If you watch it together, you can discuss it easily, and perhaps help derive a framework for the project together. Steewi (talk) 11:32, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

poaching baby harp seals. Help?

I have to write a persuasive essay on anything I want and I chose a topic about Canada and the seal poaching. I searched everywhere but I just can't find the information I need. Help? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.206.233.67 (talk) 02:56, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, you could always change the subject right?--Ryan (talk) 04:59, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Here are a couple of articles that might yield some results:
* "Greenpeace slams seal hunt quotas" by Mackenzie, Debora. New Scientist v. 185 (March 26 2005) p. 15 Journal
* "The Canadian harp seal hunt: a moral assessment" by Sumner, L.W. International journal for the study of animal problems. 4, no. 2 (Apr/June 1983. ): p. 108-116.
* "New demand drives Canada's baby seal hunt" by Krauss, Clifford. New York Times 153, no. 52810 (April 5, 2004): A1, A13
* "Harp seals: The hunt for balance" by Warne, Kennedy. National Geographic 205, no. 3 (March 2004): 50-67
-- Saukkomies 08:50, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

We do have an article here about Seal hunting :) Lemon martini (talk) 15:29, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but that article doesn't talk about poaching. Saukkomies 14:35, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

A bit of clarification might be needed here. The word poaching specifies the activity as being illegal and the seal hunt is legal in Canada. I don't know how much poaching actually goes on - the hunt attracts too much attention. It's not like quietly poaching a deer out of season where it's unlikely anyone would ever find out. Matt Deres (talk) 16:50, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Indicative Pricing

What is the difference between "Indicative Pricing" and "Specific Pricing"? Thank you.

Indicative.[[1]]--TreeSmiler (talk) 03:59, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Indicative indicates a price; specific specifies a price!!90.0.6.116 (talk) 10:16, 20 January 2008 (UTC)DT

Is it legal to sell second-hand books?

please tell me! thanks

I don't know why it wouldn't be. People do it here in the U.S. all the time. Either at garage sales or by selling them to used book stores. Where, in turn, they sell them again to customers who don't want to buy their books new. Dismas|^(talk) 05:12, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Online, you can sell second-hand books through both eBay and Amazon. —Angr ^{If you've written a quality article...} 05:25, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

You may be interested to read about first-sale doctrine. Bovlb (talk) 05:36, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

OMG! So the end-user license to the content is actually transferable? JIP | Talk 06:37, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

At least in some countries, bookstores get to return unsold books to the publishers for a refund, and a special arrangement exists for mass-market paperback. Say the bookstore buys 40 copies and sells only 25. Then they tear the covers off the remaining 14 copies, and just send those back to the publisher, and receive in return the wholesale price of the 14 books. What happens to the 14 "stripped" (coverless) books? Well, the bookstore simply does what the publisher would if they were returned -- sends them to the recycling plant. By this method they only have to be shipped once instead of twice, thus saving money and allowing the price to be a bit lower.

But of course it only works if the bookstore is honest. Sometimes a stripped book that was supposed to be sent for recycling will find its way onto the secondhand market -- so the bookstore not only gets the wholesale price back, but makes a bit of money as well. This is theft: once the money is refunded, the book belongs to the publisher again, even if it normally wouldn't ever be in their hands.

Which brings me to the reason for explaining this: when secondhand books of this kind are bought and sold, it is illegal -- not for copyright reasons, but simply because this is a sale of stolen property. In books from some publishers you will see warning notices about it.

--Anonymous and legal, 08:16 UTC, January 18, 2008.

Dang, I was waiting for someone to ask how 40 - 25 = 14 and nobody did. The answer is that the other book was stolen by a shoplifter. --Anon, 02:25, January 19.

I figured it was just measurement error (2.5% isn't that bad). -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 12:34, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Mmmmm, I got to read so many books in stripped form in my youth, knowing someone who worked in a bookshop. I never really understood at the time why they had no covers. 79.66.24.40 (talk) 16:40, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I have a friend who works for Amazon.com, and she gets a ton of free advance-copy books all marked, "not for resale". I often borrow them and have always assumed it would be technically illegal to try and sell them. Azi Like a Fox (talk) 05:08, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Copywrite law only protects the first sale of books. This means that after a book has been sold once, it can then be resold again without permission from the author. This is not to say, though, that copywrite law does not protect the book in other ways after the first sale - for instance, a person after buying a book cannot then publish it on his or her own. We're just talking about buying and selling books that are printed under copywrite. -- Saukkomies 14:40, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

1. Please do not confuse copyrighting with copywriting!
2. Please do not confuse the right to make copies with the right to sell a copy, first or otherwise.

--Anonymous, 21:40 UTC, January 20/08.

Are there any MOD players?

I wanted to try a MOD player, to experiment with the sounds of making a song with heartbeats or dog barks. Are there any MOD players? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sirdrink13309622 (talk • contribs) 04:53, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I can't remember the exact name, but Winamp has a MOD tracker plugin that allows you to play MOD's. As for creating your own, I don't know of any offhand. Google would be a great place to start. If you're OK with stepping away from MOD, you should try DirectMusic Producer. It's a free program used to author MIDI's, has a built in sampler, effects, and pretty much everything a DOS or Amiga MOD program would have offered. ataricom (talk) 22:09, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Singing voice

Why does my voice become harsh when I frequently change my type of voice when singing?I have seen some singers change their voice at ease.Is there anything called as natural voice that suits me? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.2.51 (talk) 06:57, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Staying within your range is probably the best way to prevent damaging your voice. A good voice coach should be able to instruct you on what your range is. See also: Voice type EvilCouch (talk) 07:23, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Part of the reason your voice gets harsh is because it's doing things it's not used to. To be able to match professional singers, you need to train your voice like an athlete trains his/her body. Voice coaches and singing teachers teach you the methods that are most effective, because putting too much strain on your voice can cause permanent damage. A competitor in a previous version of Australian Idol had to pull out because she put too much strain on her voice. Warming up your voice properly before you try anything difficult is also essential to not damaging your voice. Steewi (talk) 07:27, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Can't choose a DVD/VCR player

I'm really confused now with all the different DVD/VCR combo players that are out there now and I'm hoping someone here can help me sort through it. I know the US is coverting to digital next year so I want to buy a player that includes a digital tuner (right?). I don't have cable or satellite; I get my TV from over-the-air transmision. If I purchase a DVD/VCR combo player with a digital tuner will I be able to use it now seeing that I don't have a converter box yet for my TV? Thanks for any help. This is turning into a project! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.252.17.49 (talk) 08:30, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes, you definitely want a digital tuner. As of March 1 2007, all televisions have been required to include such, however I'm not sure if that ruling applied to DVD/VCR players, so be sure to check. A player equipped with such a tuner should also be able to receive analog broadcasts - most likely the specs for the player will mention NTSC/ATSC/QAM, where NTSC is the existing analog system, ATSC handles digital broadcast signals, and QAM handle digital cable signals. I would hazard a guess that you should be able to use such a player with your TV, it really depends on the types of outputs on the player and availability of matching inputs on your television. If your TV has component or composite video inputs, or perhaps S-Video you should be all set. --LarryMac | Talk 14:27, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply! It did clear up some of the confusion that I've been having. I have a coaxial cable like this one that plugs into the back of my TV. Not sure if this is allowed on Wiki but can anybody recommend a make/model? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.252.166.4 (talk) 03:13, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Little girls -- way smarter than you'd think?

Have I grossly misunderstood human development? Lately I have been talking to some very young girls (age 7-11; mostly ~9) on-line, and they seem extremely skilled in typing and know a lot of stuff that I did not at that age. (And yes, I know they are not fakers as they had Web cameras on, and no, I didn't ask them to meet up in a dark alley, and no, they were not working for Chris Hansen, and no, I'm not an evil pedophile.)

I was insanely immature and ignorant of everything besides my narrow interests when I was even 12 and beyond. Only much later did I somehow start to learn... stuff. But I wouldn't say I was anywhere near a "sensible person" at age 18. Now, at age 22, I seem to have an OK understanding to make informed choices and do stuff in general.

I don't know. Maybe growing up with modern computers -- we got one very late in our house, much to my disappointment -- in the home has taught kids to type and read much earlier and I was just retarded as a kid (I'm the guy who thought I was a Ralph Wiggum as a kid earlier). Plus girls are said to mature faster than boys, but still... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.49.146 (talk) 08:54, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Knowing more stuff isn't a good standard of how mature the children are. You need to compare their relative knowledge to their peers and how that measures against past generations. Being skilled at typing is also a consequence of the large amount of time they (generally) spend on computers, so that isn't really reflection on human development per se. What is an example of something that you thought they wouldn't know about at their age? And is that something that you cannot easily explain by them being exposed to it (e.g. something nuanced for a child like thinking the U.S. invaded Iraq for oil, regardless of whether it is true or not, could've just been something they heard from an older person or a news broadcast).--droptone (talk) 13:19, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I can't come up with any specific example. I also forgot to point out that I did not only get this impression from these chat sessions, but also from radio shows where kids call in or participate in a live questioning ("Ask the kids" is the translated title). Also, movies and TV series (although here, of course, things are always skewed). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.49.146 (talk) 13:48, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

In my anecdotal experience, I have found children of that age appear to be quite bright once you get them to actually focus on something. Most of the time they aren't paying any attention to adults and seem to live in some sort of whacked-out 9-year-old acid landscape (the girls anyway; I don't have as much experience around boys of that age, but they strike me as being stuck in some sort of different, "rowdy" whacked-out landscape). If you can get them to focus on something that they think is interesting or important, they do pretty well, but I'm not very good at that. As for typing, computers, etc., well, it's second nature to them, the same way using a phone eventually got to be for you. They haven't known a world without the internet. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:30, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Wait...why are you talking to 9 year old girls with webcams? Adam Bishop (talk) 16:31, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Leaving aside that slightly worrying point, I would note that the ones you tend to talk to are, of course, the ones who are using these facilities in a sophisticated enough manner. I'd have loved to be able to chat online to strangers at that age, although I'd probably have stayed anonymous so they wouldn't know my age. Ender's Game is popular among the young for a reason. 79.66.24.40 (talk) 16:38, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Sorry to disappoint but that does not make them adults or you their peer.

I'm slightly worried that in Ender's Game the Earth is being invaded by hordes of 'buggers'. Did no-one sit down and say 'Good plot.Might want to change the name of these invaders...'? Lemon martini (talk) 15:32, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

At least one of the later books touches on that slightly, although it is claimed that the word is no longer used in this way in the future. The later books given them the higher register formics as well. And it is supposed to be propaganda. But yes, a little odd. 79.66.24.40 (talk) 17:10, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

The OP's original question reminds me of the moral to James Thurber's story "The Little Girl and the Wolf": It is not so easy to fool little girls nowadays as it used to be. The story is a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood in which the little girl instantly recognizes the wolf in her grandmother's bed ("for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge") and shoots it dead. —Angr ^{If you've written a quality article...} 16:04, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

This is often used as evidence arguing that children are forced to grow up and mature too fast (in conjunction with preteen fashion). I'm neutral on that particular issue, but there does appear to be a definite change in the past 100 years in the way children are treated. From "should be seen but not heard" to "little pampered Emperors" is quite a change. Your surprise may be a recognition of a later part of this change. Steewi (talk) 11:38, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

• i know lots of 'clever' people, who lack common sense. they have the academic knowledge, but lack life skills and basic sense. A favorite quote I read is: 'Knowledge is knowing tomatoes are a fruit; sense is knowing not to put them in a fruit salad. 86.139.90.67 (talk) 15:56, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Shemales in Asia

Why are shemales frequently associated with Asia/Thailand? Is it just the culture that allows these people to more openly "come out", or are there in fact more shemales in these regions for some reason? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.49.146 (talk) 13:45, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Have a look at Kathoey. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:46, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

What about it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.49.146 (talk) 21:06, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

It's probably the fact that east Asian religions aren't as oppressive about sexuality. Bellum et Pax (talk) 21:18, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

One may find it a mix between cultural differences, with regards to sexuality, and local medicine. If the child is delivered at home, the fact that she is a she can go unnoticed for a good while. 81.93.102.185 (talk) 22:08, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Although there is a native word and concept for transvestitism/transexuality in Thailand and India (the Indian equivalent is Hijra) doesn't mean that they aren't oppressed. The third-sex in these cultures are still somewhat outcasts, although Thailand has been one of the Asian leaders in adapting to modern concepts of non-standard gender identities. See LGBT rights in Thailand for a little bit of information. In other parts of Asia, including China and South Korea, transexuality is heavily frowned upon (see Homosexuality laws around the world, although the communities in Hong Kong and Indonesia are growing. Steewi (talk) 11:46, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Green skin

I mentioned this above, but then realised the post was a couple of days old, so will probably not be noticed.

I went to school with a boy who had a very strong greenish cast to his skin - we even called him the Incredible Hulk as it was so obvious! He didn't have medical issues, as far as I was aware, and it was a small school and class, so we knew lots about each other. So what could have caused his weird colouration?Snorgle (talk) 15:35, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Kryptonite poisoning? Could have been from poor circulation; a blue sheen could look greenish. Or could have been from a subdermal buildup of silver. Did no-one ever just ask him? Lanfear's Bane | t 16:47, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, he was a horrible boy, who was quite nasty and would steal things all the time, so no-one really liked him. I saw him kicked down the stairs by our school principal once!Snorgle (talk) 16:57, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Isn't that illegal? JIP | Talk 17:06, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, I'm sure it was, but this was in the late 70s - early 80s in a Catholic school, so a lot worse stuff was going on!Snorgle (talk) 15:32, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Advice nedded

I whish to know if this is genuine or fake.[2] I find it unlikely that a person would seem so happy participating in such an activity. Please advise as to alleviate my uneasiness to the current situation. Weasly (talk) 16:30, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Looks real. As for being happy to do it, if you're, say, a caretaker of elephants, you probably don't mind that much. Hell, I pick up my dog's shit all the time on walks (with little bags, of course), and I always tell her what a good girl she is and how proud I am and etc. when she does it in an appropriate location. You get inured to it if you work with it on a daily basis, and hey, catching elephant shit looks like more fun than picking up dog shit. Anyway, she looks more amused than happy, my guess would be she's never done it before and finds it funny. As elephants have a vegetarian diet, I would guess that their shit isn't that much worse off than cow shit, which really isn't as nasty and unpleasant as the shit of carnivores. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 16:32, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

From the logistic point of view - looks real. Simpler than having to scoop this off the ground, isn't it? --Ouro (blah blah) 17:00, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Although this image doesn't look all that outlandish to me, I'm fairly sure it's been faked, for a number of reasons:

1) Although I'm not an expert on how elephants poop, to me it seems unlikely that a second turd would be nearly fully formed in less time than it takes for the previous turd to fall only about 18 inches.

2) Although the outlines of the two turds are a bit different, it looks to me like the two turds were formed using the same texture. That is, if you look at the pattern of light and dark areas on the two turds, it looks to me like the lower turd is essentially the same image as the upper turd, except rotated counterclockwise a bit, and cropped a little differently.

3) If the image was an undoctored photo, I can't think of a good reason why the photographer would be using black and white film instead of color. On the other hand, the image being black and white makes perfect sense if it's been faked. The reason being that if the image is in black and white, it's a lot easier to fake, because you only have to get the texture and outline of the turds right, without needing to worry about also getting the color right.

4) If you look at the image in an image editor, you'll see that there's quite a large area in the top left portion of the image in which every single pixel is 100% pure white. In an undoctored photo, areas that appear to the naked eye to be white generally contain a lot of pixels that are actually a very light shade of gray. But a faked image can easily wind up with large, 100% pure white areas, because an "eraser" tool has been used to crop out undesired portions of one of the source images. MrRedact (talk) 18:03, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

There's also a fifth clue that the image has been faked, that I didn't include in my response above because it's not as strong of an indicator as some of the above, but I might as well mention it anyway. The bottom of the lower turd is above, rather than below, the rim of the bag. There is a strong incentive to do that when faking the image, because it makes it possible to avoid the effort of carefully working out the seam between the turd and the bag. It's possible to take a real picture of a turd that's in mid-air just above a bag, just like it's possible to take a picture like this in black and white. But the more things there are in the image that make it so that it would have been easy to fake, the less likely it is that those things just happened by coincidence. MrRedact (talk) 19:26, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

The "uneasiness of your current situation" may easily be alleviated - indeed, it may be cured - when you change nappies of a human baby. As to the happiness "participating in such an activity" you may question your parents. Since you are interested in Social Darwinism (I refuse to link this lemma), you may also suggest a clinical solution to pachydermal feces in this context. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 19:42, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

While I agree that this particular image does look doctored, these videos indicate that they do send them out the chute pretty quickly. As for your discomfort, you must be new to the internet! There is an entire genre of YouTube videos dedicated just to people's reactions to things much worse than this. Much worse. --Sean 22:13, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I just want to note that I disagree with MrRedact's analysis. Pure white areas is easy to get in a washed out photo to which curves have been applied, especially one of such low resolution and high compression. There are plenty of reasons people use black and white rather than color or covert something to grayscale after the fact (which I don't consider "doctoring"). I'm no expert in elephant shit but I don't think it's implausible that it could have two pieces coming out at around the same time—I've seen weirder shit, so to speak, at a zoo (ever see a polar bear shit? nasty). And the "fifth clue" is no clue at all. Anyway the image doesn't seem implausible, and is of such low resolution and high compression that it's hard to judge whether it would be doctored, but I don't see any good reason to suppose it has. The OP seems to think it must have been based on the expression of the woman alone, I don't think that's a good reason to suspect it, for reasons I have stated. --24.147.69.31 (talk) 22:45, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't see why the image should be faked to begin with. Nothing in the photo is all that implausable (the speed of the turds coming out is interesting, but not implausable). One thing that was odd to me was the top of the bag. It seems so sturdy, an ordinary bag would have collapsed there, but her bag defies gravity. I thought about this and perhaps the bags are specifically designed that way. Rfwoolf (talk) 11:03, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Galice Plaster

What is Galice Plaster? Galice plaster appears to be a high-end plaster technique.

How is it installed? Are there any guides available that describe the technique?

Here is the google search: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22galice+plaster%22&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLR

Thank you

Mannhorace2008 (talk) 19:36, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Galice is a plaster contractor in LA. Maybe they convinced whoever is writing those listings that come up on your search that Galice is really high end or something. Recury (talk) 20:09, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Changing hair color

My hair color has changed over the past year or so to being a dark brown color. Previous to this it's always been straight up black. Why is this? I don't really meet any of the conditions on the hair color article. I'm pretty young and healthy. Bellum et Pax (talk) 21:07, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Sometimes it's hard to tell apart dark brown from black. The illumination setting affects this a lot, so, perhaps, you just have noticed your hair is not 100% black if you look at it closely. On the other hand, my hair is brown in winter but it becomes noticeably lighter in summer. You said it changed over the past year, so I guess the latter doesn't apply. --Taraborn (talk) 22:26, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

My (normally dark brown) hair gets a red sheen to it when I spend a lot of time in the sun. If you've started spending a lot of time in the sun over the past year that might have some effect. Otherwise it might be a reaction to your shampoo or conditioner or simply age. Pattern baldness and greying can happen quite early in some people. Steewi (talk) 11:52, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

food concern

hey. i was wondering if the burj al arab hotel in the united arab emirates serves fries and chicken fingers. weird question but if any one finds out for me it would be appreciated.Jwking (talk) 21:26, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

The Burj Al Arab is one of the most expensive hotels in the world; I expect they'll serve absolutely anything you ask for. FiggyBee (talk) 22:45, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Long pig? --Carnildo (talk) 23:14, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

With the right amount of money, who knows, but let's hope not Long Pig. Fries and Chicken fingers should be know problem in the Burj al-Arab, but it might be more difficult in other parts of the UAE. Dubai is very modern and caters to many foreign tourists and businessmen, but the other Emirates are less used to the tourist trade. For local cuisine, if you're feeling adventurous, I recommend a dip platter including hommous, baba ghannouge and dukkah. Steewi (talk) 11:55, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Nike's Swoosh

What is the proper or technical name for the shape or symbol used for Nike's swoosh? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.225.56.54 (talk) 21:33, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

The "Nike Swoosh"? --WebHamster 22:22, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

We have an article about this: Swoosh. --Taraborn (talk) 22:27, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't give a technical name for the shape. I don't think there is one. --Anonymous, 02:32 UTC, January 19, 2008.

Our article suggests, and I would certainly agree, that "the mark [is] now known globally as the Swoosh". So while "swoosh" may not be the technical name, I think it's safe to say it's the "proper" one. —Steve Summit (talk) 02:40, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

It's a kind of a deformed crescent, not? Translated, in Poland it's referred to as the Nike sign or Nike symbol most often. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:53, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

In Australia, I've always heard it being called the Nike tick. I've certainly never known it as the swoosh. Raven4x4x (talk) 11:45, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

It would be possible to call it a 'device', in the same way that Coca Cola puts on its cans and bottles. If you like you can do a trademark search in the US or elsewhere for 'Nike' and see the description for the Nike Logo. Rfwoolf (talk) 10:46, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Chess book for someone who knows the rules of the game but needs to develop strategy?

Any suggestions on a chess book which is aimed at someone who knows the rules of the game, and has some basic strategy, but needs to develop his play? 68.183.18.54 (talk) 21:38, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I would start by getting a book about openings. --Taraborn (talk) 00:11, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

We have some really good articles on chess strategy, chess tactics, and chess openings (etc), along with recommended books.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:00, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

When i was moving from basics to something a bit more in-depth, I found the (probably long-out-of-print) "The Game of Chess" by Harry Golombek (London: Penguin Books, 1954) to be a pretty useful book. Grutness...wha? 08:47, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Not quite sure what you mean by "basic strategy". If you mean you are a good club level player then this will probably not be of much interest to you. On the other hand, if you really do mean basic then I found this book to be excellent when I was starting out, but again, probably out of print now: "The Right Way to Play Chess" by D. Brine Pritchard (Elliot Right Way Books). SpinningSpark 12:48, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Free databases

In many cases, I have made my own MySQL/PostgreSQL tables and filled them up manually with data, such as all countries in the world or all cities in a country. This is a very tedious process.

Are there generally freely available pre-made databases for this? If so: Who makes them, and where do you find them? Maybe they all cost money. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.225.49.146 (talk) 22:10, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

um, you should be able to cut and paste from HTML tables from the web into a spreadsheeet program (for example excel, or free alternatives) and then export it in a neutral format your database program can import... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.51.122.18 (talk) 13:50, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

What .18 said, or some simple scripting would do the trick. If you have a file countries.txt like this:

Argentina
Austria
Belgium
...

the following command would put them into a postgresql database:

for i in `cat countries.txt`; do echo "insert into country_table values ('$i');"; done | psql my_db

--Sean 16:36, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

There was a TED video about a not-for-profit organisation whose intent was to do something like this. They wanted to harness all the data on all the countries they could get. They also wrote software that had very unique ways of plotting this data to make it meaningful, and add a dynamic timeline for it, i.e. you would see a graph, hit 'play', and it would animate all the data over time. So for example you might ask it to show populations of different countries over the past 100 years, and you'll see something like China and America taking off and China becomes this big monster that almost looks like it's trying to eat America and then it all stabilises. I do believe their intent was to have this data for free. Rfwoolf (talk) 20:02, 21 January 2008 (UTC)