Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 June 12

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June 12

Star Trek

What city is the capital of Earth in Star Trek? --75.25.103.109 (talk) 03:08, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't think it is ever specified (and Memory Alpha unhelpfully says "Earth"). Paris is the headquarters of the Federation, and San Francisco is the headquarters of Starfleet, and those are pretty much the only cities ever seen on Star Trek (aside from New Orleans, which is obviously not the capital, and not counting time travel/flashbacks). The structure of "United Earth" and the Federation are never really explained. Adam Bishop (talk) 03:26, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Memory Beta, which branches out a bit and adds in various licensed Star Trek works, such as the many novels, states that San Francisco is Earth's capital city. The citation for this info is a novel set around the time of Star Trek: Enterprise. Since Memory Alpha sticks to the movies and TV series, however, that seems to be more canonical than Memory Beta would be, so "unofficially" it appears to be San Francisco. --McDoobAU93 (talk) 03:43, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it's relevant for the Star Trek universe, but keep in mind that there is a distinction between a capital city and the seat of government. The classic example is the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is the official capital, but The Hague is the seat of government, where all the legislators are located. Our article defines "capital city" as "the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status." It could very well be that in the egalitarian utopia of Star Trek, there is no capitol city (a city with primary status), but only a seat of government. -- 174.24.195.56 (talk) 18:15, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Does Earth in the Star Trek universe still have countries? MBelgrano (talk) 02:23, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

That is never really made clear either. There are still entities called the United States, Canada, France, etc, but are they still separate countries? Are they countries as they are now, and the United Earth government is more like the United Nations, or are they more like provinces or states of the planet? They don't say, which is probably a good idea, because whenever they do specify things like that it becomes dated amusingly fast. (There is one episode of TNG where they mention the Soviet Union having lasted into the 21st century. There is also that one episode where Kirk bestows the US constitution upon a civilization previously ruled by a computer, which is pretty silly.) By the way, check our Memory Alpha's list of "Earth countries" to see which ones were are mentioned on-screen. Adam Bishop (talk) 02:51, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

What are the expenses for last five common wealth games?

I need to know details of expenses occurred for last five common wealth games year wise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.163.149.15 (talk) 04:41, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

I'd start with our article 2006 Commonwealth Games and work backward from there with the handy category organizer template at the bottom of the page. Comet Tuttle (talk) 05:52, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

I know this isn't the language desk but the word is "incurred", not "occurred". Dismas|^(talk) 06:27, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Even so, expenses incurred by whom, about what, and when? This question might be about the overall cost to the government/community of staging these events, or it might be asking for something else, such as expenses incurred by participants, sporting organisations, volunteers, you name it. The "year wise" is not clear - does it mean a single overall gross figure for each of the last 5 Commonwealth Games, or details of costs incurred year by year for each of them (given that each games takes a number of years to organise)? It's a spectacularly vague question. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 08:41, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Opera: Della mia bella...Questo O Quel

Could someone kindly tell me the opera in which Della mia bella...Questo O Quel appears, together with name of composer. Thanking you in advance.PeadarMaguidhir (talk) 10:32, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't know of any "Questo O Quel", but there's a famous aria "Questa o quella" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto. The lyrics leading up to the aria start with "Della mia bella ...". -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:34, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, you are quite right. It's Della Mia Bella...Questa O Quella. Thank you for your help and your prompt reply.PeadarMaguidhir (talk) 09:47, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

You're very welcome, Peadar. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:04, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Iron Man

In the Marvel comics, was it known that Tony Stark was Iron Man (as in the film) or was it a secret? Thanks 128.232.247.9 (talk) 14:45, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Our Iron Man article says "In Iron Man (vol. 3) #55 (July 2002), Stark publicly reveals his dual identity as Iron Man". So, for most of the character's existence, no. Rojomoke (talk) 15:15, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

How early did the revelation come in the original storyline that debuted in 1963? 87.81.230.195 (talk) 17:19, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

In the early times, it was as with any other super heroe, with a secret identity that was unknown for all, except for the occasional enemy or close friend aware of it (for example Thor and him knew both their respective identities). At some point in the future his identity was known, but that was much later (I have an issue of the FF of the 1980 decade, where Iron Man still plays the "...as requested by my boss, Tony Stark" charade) MBelgrano (talk) 19:42, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

"In the early times" makes me feel positively antediluvian, given that I read some of those stories when they were first published :-) . 87.81.230.195 (talk) 17:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

By the way, Marvel isn't messed up with all the "Earths" of DC. The "Earth" and the characters from the 1960 issues, and the modern ones, are still the same ones within the plot. MBelgrano (talk) 19:54, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Of course they have, they're just called "Ultimate" or "Max" or whatever. Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, for example, is directly from the Ultimates line (literally, the comic book version was drawn in his likeness years before he signed on for the Iron Man movie). The movie combines elements of both the mainstream Marvel continuity and the Ultimates one (Ultimate Tony Stark, for example is still an alcoholic, while the mainstream one has stayed sober since the Demon in a Bottle story arc. Matt Deres (talk) 15:49, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Cannes Film Festival Winner

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives does anyone know where i can watch this online? or download? pay for or not does not matter, i just want to watch thuis movie please help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.145 (talk) 17:15, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

This film is listed on Netflix as "Save"—which means it is not yet available there but presumably will be. Pepso2 (talk) 02:42, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

What's that song by Stevie Wonder... that soft, gentle one?

It's definitely not on Innervisions. It's a popular song, and has a relatively soft, slow sound. If you could think of multiple songs that match this characteristic, could you possibly name them so that I can look on youtube to see if they match the one that I heard the other night? Thank you, very much.--Seemtomatter (talk) 21:28, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Any idea of the lyrics? Does Stevie Wonder discography help? How about "I Just Called to Say I Love You"? Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:41, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

That isn't it. No idea of the lyrics.--Seemtomatter (talk) 22:11, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Given that he has recorded hundreds of songs, many of which could be described as having a "relatively soft, slow sound", you might find it more fruitful to go through tracks on a site like iTunes or Spotify, rather than asking people here to hazard guesses based on minimal information.  :-) Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:16, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Overjoyed? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 23:29, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

If only you had asked for a slow gentle song by KISS. Dismas|^(talk) 23:38, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Isn't She Lovely perhaps? From Songs in the Key of Life. Zoonoses (talk) 01:43, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)? (At least for the first half.) Adam Bishop (talk) 02:44, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Maybe Lately? There is another one, which has the lines "Mary wants to be a super woman, but it's just not in her head... Very well, I believe I know you very well" but I can't find the title. --TammyMoet (talk) 07:48, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

"Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)" Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:19, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

"Too shy to say" from Fulfillingness' First Finale or "Seems so long" from Music of My Mind? Oda Mari (talk) 08:38, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

It depends on what you'd call soft and gentle. I know people who'd call Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart Again soft and gentle. However, to answer your question, the song which immediately comes to mind is Wonder's 1969 hit My Cherie Amour (song).--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 08:46, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

"As"? Ghmyrtle (talk) 09:16, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

You will post back and let us know which it is, now won't you? --TammyMoet (talk) 11:14, 13 June 2010 (UTC)