Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2014 April 24

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April 24

Was |Selena Quintanilla Perez enrolled as a Native American Cherokee?

I heard that this famous dead Tejano singer was 1/4 Cherokee, enough blood quantum to enroll as a member of the tribe, and that her mother was a half Cherokee Indian. Also, is her mother enrolled? Willminator (talk) 07:44, 24 April 2014 (UTC) In other words, were Selena Quintanilla and her mother Samora enrolled Cherokee Indians? The anniversary of her death passed not too long ago and, knowing that Selena and her mother had a significant blood quantum of Native American in them that would allow them to join the Cherokee tribe, I was curious to find out whether Selena and/or her mother was/were enrolled members of the group, but I was and am unable to find information about this. Willminator (talk) 13:55, 24 April 2014 (UTC) Did she and/or her mother had Cherokee citizenship? Willminator (talk) 15:47, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

No friend. 71.98.168.39 (talk) 15:49, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Wheelchair marathons

I observed that the times for the wheelchair racers at the Boston Marathon are much shorter than those of the runners. Do they do the same 26 mile course but more quickly, or do they have a reduced course? -- SGBailey (talk) 12:56, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

They're much quicker. The route is the same. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 13:04, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Speculation: The course drops 140m between start and finish so there are more downhills to freewheel. See Boston_Marathon#Records 196.214.78.114 (talk) 13:13, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

The differential holds for even very flat marathon courses like the Berlin Marathon. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 13:20, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

A wheelchair racer's top speed will be higher than an able-bodied runner's, even on a flat course. Keeping a rolling wheelchair moving takes less energy than running at the same speed. An able-bodied runner needs to make constant strides to keep going, while a wheelchair racer can maintain speed with less frequent pushes. Thus for the same energy expended, the wheelchair racer will end up going faster.

This is the case once both are at a constant speed; getting there is a different story. Acceleration is a greater challenge for wheelchair racers; able-bodied runners are able to reach top speed much more quickly. The records show that able-bodied runners are faster than wheelchair racers at shorter distances. This table shows the comparative world records of able-bodied men versus class T54 wheelchair racers:

Distance	AB Men	T54 Men	Ratio
100m	9.58	13.63	0.703
200m	19.19	24.18	0.794
400m	43.18	45.07	0.958
800m	1:40.9	1:31.1	1.108
1500m	3:26.0	2:54.5	1.181
5000m	12:37.4	9:53.0	1.277
10,000m	26:17.5	19:50.6	1.325
Marathon	2:03:23	1:20:14	1.538

(Sources: List of world records in athletics and List of IPC world records in athletics; these distances are the ones common to both categories.)

Runners are faster until somewhere after 400m, at which point acceleration is much less of a factor and the wheelies' superior top speed takes over. - Eron^Talk 17:45, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

I've taken the liberty of fixing minor typos in the last line of the table and adding a "ratio" column on the right. A ratio greater than 1 indicates that the wheelchair racer is faster. --50.100.193.30 (talk) 22:45, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

We may come to the point where amputee distance runners can outrun we humble fleshfoots too. The current (as far as I know) marathon record holder for double-leg amputees is Richard Whitehead (with 2:42 in Chicago). He runs on blades, which have good energy return characteristics. But he's a through-knee amputee (so he has no knee articulation), which makes for an inefficient running style (he has a very muscular upper body, so he throws his shoulders back and forward to generate the rotation to move his feet). So he's 22kg heavier than Mo Farah. A below the knee amputee would gain the advantage of their normal knee articulation, which makes for a much more natural, efficient gait. The trouble with that is that the size of the cup (where the prosthesis interfaces with the skin) has to be much smaller. This means the same force has to be passed through much less skin, so below the knee amputee distance runners have more problems with abrasions - making it difficult to train at the high volume needed for the elite level. At some point someone may perfect a transdermal bolt, which would allow a removable prosthesis to be mated to bone without the cup/skin interface. In that eventuality, we may see see amputee runners go very quick indeed. -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 13:49, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

And this is where Oscar Pistorius first gained notoriety. He was allowed to compete against and win medals against able-bodied athletics with his springy legs, but wheelchair users aren't allowed to compete in that way. Many wheelies I know feel ripped off. HiLo48 (talk) 07:28, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Oh yes, that other court case that Mr. Pistorius was involved in. The CAS judgement on the matter is an interesting read, if you like that sort of thing. It came down to the IAAF rule stating that athletes can't use "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels, or any other element that provides the user with an advantage," and the decision that his prosthetics did not grant him an overall advantage. (Sadly for the wheelchair racers, the word "wheel" is fairly unambiguous in this context.) - Eron^Talk 18:26, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

I've had some involvement with athletics ("track and field" to Americans) for most of my life. and my long experience with officialdom meant I wasn't surprised when some idiots declared that his blades provided no advantage. (PS: How do Americans logically fit the marathon under the heading "track and field"? It's run on neither a track nor a field.) HiLo48 (talk) 23:47, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

And don't even get me started on football...

I've dealt with dispute resolution in sport including a case going all the way to CAS, and the further one gets from the field of play, the more it becomes about process and procedure and the less about what actually happens in competition. Although I note that the decision didn't say he got no advantage from the blades, but that there was no overall net advantage, i.e. any benefit he got from the improved energy return, for example, was balanced by other disadvantages of having no lower legs. - Eron^Talk 00:10, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

Radiohead fans

hey so my flatmate is seriously threatening to stab me with his set of bocho knives if i keep playing my traditional serbian accordion music whilst doing work so i need your advice. i've decided to opt for the closest thing i can find to my near and dear balkan folk songs, which is of course the band radiohead, but the group has such an immense discography that i have no idea where to begin. since wikipedia is basically a gathering place for casual experts on stuff, i was hoping that one of you might happen to be an expert on radiohead and know what some good songs/albums are which are preferably both accessible and sexy. thanks cheers ~Helicopter Llama~ 19:53, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Radiohead discography lists all of their albums and singles with their respective chart positions. That should give you some idea about what the world at large (and if your area is listed, what your local record buying public) thinks of their various recordings. --Jayron32 23:23, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

One of many album rankings: http://www.stereogum.com/1183792/radiohead-albums-from-worst-to-best/top-stories/lead-story/attachment/radiohead-ok-computer-2/ . I don't necessarily agree, but any search for "Where to start radiohead" should give you plenty of listening guides. Mingmingla (talk) 23:38, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Have you heard of Grooveshark? You can quickly skim through all their albums to get a feel for whatever is accesible and sexy, by your tastes. Does a good job of grouping musically similar artists, too. Might find an even better band. InedibleHulk (talk) 00:31, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

The best Radiohead albums are OK Computer and The Bends, in that order. Before The Bends they were basically finding their way. After OK Computer they got bored with rock music and started playing more experimental, electronic music. It's still songs, but they lack the beauty and grandeur of OK Computer. They've put out five albums since then, they all have their moments but nothing to compete with those two great records. --Viennese Waltz 09:52, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

The best albums in your opinion. In mine, nothing trumps The Bends. Nothing as personal as musical tastes after all, which is also why this is a bit of a pointless question. Fgf10 (talk) 18:45, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Of course it's my opinion, that goes without saying and is implicit in my post. The Bends is a good album, it has some great tunes but it lacks the ambition and modern progressive feel of OK Computer. --Viennese Waltz 19:23, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

See above, please, We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate. is prominently displayed at the above. Please provide references where the OP can research the answer to their question. --Jayron32 20:21, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

This question can be easily referenced given that Radiohead appears near the top of "best-of" lists of most music critics when discussing music of the last 20 years. Their albums such as Kid A and OK Computer have been analyzed to great depth. You should know that Radiohead had a drastic stylistic change near the year 2000 when they released their album Kid A. Before that time, their music could've been described as Brit pop/rock. After that, their music became much more experimental in nature and incorporating elements such as electronica. In all cases, their albums are masterpieces and are best consumed from start to finish. Starting off with any of OK Computer, The Bends, Kid A, or In Rainbows will be very rewarding. In case you don't have time to listen to full albums some of their essential tracks include:

1. Paranoid Android
   
2. Let Down
   
3. Karma Police
   
4. No Surprises
   
5. Exit Music (for a Film)
   
6. Creep
   
7. Fake Plastic Trees
   
8. High and Dry
   
9. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
   
10. Life in a Glass House
    
11. Everything in its Right Place
    
12. Idioteque
    
13. How to Disappear Completely
    
14. Bloom
    
15. Lotus Flower
    
16. House of Cards
    
17. Reckoner
    
18. Videotape
    
19. All I Need
    
20. Weird Fishes
    
21. 15 Step
    

_{Hia10 (talk) 08:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)}