Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2008 May 24

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May 24

name that whistle tune

What's the name of the tune Elle Driver whistles as she's about to poision Kiddo in the hospial scene of Kill Bill? Spade9 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 00:33, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I think it's called "Twisted Nerve" from the 1968 film Twisted Nerve. It was composed by Bernard Herrmann. WDavis1911 (talk) 02:45, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

DTV game changer?

Cable and satelite will no doubt offer increasingly more tv channels and services through the digital changeover, but it seems the programming quality of mainstream media will probably lag behind the picture quality for years to come (due largely to media consolidation). Will large numbers of people cut their cable or satelite service and switch to an antenna? Aerial transmission will also gain channels (where there is coverage of course). Will diverse media and progressive programming increase in proportion with mainstream commercial media, and will it increase as much or more over the free aerial transmission routes compared with the commercial services? Zaqry (talk) 04:54, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

This seems like a homework question and a crystal ball question, but the best we can give you is the facts on digital television. Good luck! --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 13:25, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Not schoolwork. And, it is not quite so airy-fairy as a crystal ball question. I have not seen aerials in many years. Someone must know the numbers, but I will take a guess that one might get 6-8 annalog channels on an aerial in metro areas and 3-4 in rural areas. Shouldn't digital bandwidth bring 10-15+ channels over aerial almost everywhere (except back-hills ozarks)? Does the government already mandate that some of those channels (percentage) must be for the public, before commercial interests buy it all? Seems to me like a no-brainer that one could drop a basic cable/satelite subscription while staying well informed and having pretty good channel selection. My homework is for my own interest. How is the government regulating the bandwidth expansion? Zaqry (talk) 03:02, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Assuming you're talking about the U.S. digital transition: with DTV and an antenna you will be able to get more channels. How many depends on how much broadcasters decide to multiplex. More channels means lower image quality and vice versa. Generally, the broadcasters will be the same broadcasters you can get now with an antenna, just with digital HD quality (ie. NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Fox, CW, & any local independent stations you may have). Most aren't doing much with the added multiplex channels. PBS uses it to show more PBS programming. Where I live, some channels have added 24-hour local weather. You don't (and probably won't) get any cable channels with an antenna such as ESPN, CNN, A&E, TBS, Discovery, Comedy Central, C-SPAN etc, so you will get a lot more programming from cable or DBS satellite. There won't be increased bandwidth for broadcasters because most of the old analog spectrum will be auctioned for other uses to raise revenue. (Some is being reserved for use by emergency responders.)

As far as the "public" mandate goes, all over-the-air broadcasters have a mandate to work in the interests of the public because they are using licensed public airwaves. This is why they are subject to FCC regulation and a regular license renewal process. The programming on by digital broadcasters won't be fundamentally different from what you can get now. In summary, the clear HD signal from digital broadcasts will make it a more appealing alternative to cable for many viewers, but the programming choices will still be very limited and I would guess most would still opt for cable for the 200+ channels it offers. --D. Monack | talk 20:06, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Album Sales Totals

Hello. Can someone point me to a good site to check album sales totals? I'm looking at several suspicious unsourced edits by 76.176.196.241 (talk), such as these and these, which changed sales figures. I'd like to determine if those changes are valid or vandalism. Thank you. -- Tcncv (talk) 05:03, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Record companies tend not to make that kind of information public, unless it's part of some kind of advertisement or press release. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 06:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I would think that information is out there somewhere. Is there an equivalent to IMDB for the record industry? Some of the articles link to RIAA, but those links have gone dead. -- Tcncv (talk) 12:43, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm still hoping to get an answer I can use or an independent opinion as to whether the numerous changes made by 76.176.196.241 (talk), such as these and these, are fact or fantacy. -- Tcncv (talk) 20:47, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

If it were me, I'd revert and ask the editor to re-insert with a reference. --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 21:32, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try the reverse - ask for a reference and revert if I get no response. There are a lot of edits to roll back, so I don't want to do that unless its necessary. -- Tcncv (talk) 05:04, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Donald Duck's 50th Birthday

I'm currently doing that article, but I'm limited mainly because of where I live (Australia) and the fact that the year that it came out was the year that I was born. However, I know through this television special that there was some sort of world wide tour about Donald's 50th, of course details are hard to come by at the moment. Does anyone here remember that way back about the tour? (Did your parents take you by any chance?) I think I'm going into a grey area regarding original research, but the tour IS mentioned briefly in the TV special. Katana Geldar 12:28, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

When asked his age, my Dad always says he's the same age as Donald Duck. (Upon re-reading, I think you're saying you were born in the same year as the TV special, not DD himself.) --A Knight Who Says Ni (talk) 21:35, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply back, but what I'd like is a few details of the tour that Donald went on. I think it was 15 cities in four days, recalling the film. Katana Geldar 12:24, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day there is the first chase scene where T-1000 with a truck chasing John Connor. John Connor is trying to escape with a motorcycle. Eventually Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) saved John from T-1000. In this chasing phrase, there is a scene where Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is jumping with his motorcycle (it was a very dangerous jump scene). My question is that whether this jump scene was actually done by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, or by some stunt man? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 15:41, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't remember that event but very few film stars perform their own stunts. Why risk your star's health when you can get a professional stunt man to do it? I see no reason to suppose that particular stunt might have been an exception.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 18:43, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. Hollywood is so careful of its stars that stuntmen do most anything even remotely hazardous. Even some small falls like someone being tripped or falling off a bike will be done by stunt men so that there's no chance the star could even twist an ankle. When a star does do their own stunts, it usually makes the news and gossip pages. Dismas|^(talk) 21:49, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

If I remember correctly, if you look carefully at his face during this scene, you'll see it's definitely not him but his stuntman. Kreachure (talk) 15:03, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is a picture Think outside the box 19:39, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Infield Fly Rule

Why does the MLB have the infield fly rule? Doesn't the fielder have to catch pop flies? ---Nick4404 yada yada yada What have I done? 18:01, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

It's to prevent the fielder from intentionally dropping the ball but keeping the runner stranded on his current base, so that when the ball is dropped not only is the lead runner caught and can be tagged or forced out, but the batter can then be doubled up. See Infield Fly Rule. Corvus cornix_talk 19:02, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

With runners on first and second and fewer than two outs, an infield fly could be caught and the runners would be obligated to tag up with no reasonable prospect of advancing. The result is one additional out. If the fielder were to purposely drop the ball, he could quickly pick it up and throw a force out against the lead runner at third followed by a force out at second. This assumes that both runners hold back at the prospects of a fly out. If either runner attempts to advance, the fly could be caught and the advancing runner could be thrown out before he could tag up. The result in either scenario is a double play. If bases are loaded with no outs, a similar scenario could yield a triple play. The infield fly rule prevents this windfall and limits the defending team to one guaranteed out. -- Tcncv (talk) 21:18, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Cuidado con un Angel (Use an Angel With Caution)

If Tormenta en el Paraiso (A Storm Over Paradise) had its grand finale, will Cuidado con un Angel (Use an Angel with Caution) take its place? Ericthebrainiac (talk) 20:56, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

(American) FOOTBALL!

This is the age long question that has always been asked. Why is football in Europe called Soccer in america? And why isn't American football called soccer? Who came along and said, "Ok, lets change footballs name to soccer". Why am i asking so many questions? --Randoman412 (talk) 23:01, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

The sport you refer to as soccer, is Association football and the derivation of the word "soccer" is explained in Names for association football. That should cover your first three questions but unfortunately I can't speculate on your fourth. :) Zain Ebrahim (talk) 23:45, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

I'll speculate on the fourth- perhaps you're a naturally inquisitive person. Do you often find yourself wondering about things, and asking questions? Curiosity is a good quality, and often leads to greater breadth of knowledge. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 15:25, 28 May 2008 (UTC)