Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 July 16

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July 16

Tennis on the news

Is there some kind of reason why when the tennis scores come on the news they always put on the worst possible picture of the two competitors, especially so with the womens games. Is it a running inside joke within the media or just tradition or because they can't be bothered to find any niceish ones? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.64.107.197 (talk) 00:40, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

They do the same with politicians!--88.110.139.63 (talk) 06:24, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

They do worse with politicians! There's a trick where you take two pictures in rapid succession; the person puts on a good face for the first, and the second catches them reacting to the flash. You print the second. 79.66.90.252 (talk) 22:16, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Maybe they buy the best-value photos, rather than spending a fortune on Associated Press shots that only appear on screen for 5 seconds? This way the newspapers pay for the pricey 'high quality' shots, and the tv stations save money by having the 'budget' shots that are perhaps less flattering/not as sharp/less dynamic etc. Photographs are rather expensive and businesses are always looking to cut costs, this could be one way of doing that I guess? Just speculation though, but then I suppose seing as 'worst possible picture' is opinion based a speculative response is as good as can be expected. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:18, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Or maybe they are using photos of the athletes doing what they are good at, i.e. competing in a sporting event, rather than looking glamorous. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:04, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

San Diego bus route question

As the title suggests, I live in San Diego, California. I want to know if you can get a single day bus pass, so you can ride as many busses as you want for that day. I also want to know what the route to the Us/Mexico border is on the bus route. Thank you75.62.207.163 (talk) 02:09, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Day passes are detailed here and the routes to the border at San Ysidro are 932 and 929. Rockpocket 02:20, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

If you are near the San Diego Trolley, you can take the Blue Line to San Ysidro. Nricardo (talk) 10:43, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

I am gobsmacked at this question. Last year, my wife and I were in SD for our first ever visit (we live in Scotland UK), and within minutes of leaving our hotel on Hotel Circle North, were directed to Fashion Valley where we caught the Trolley to central SD and then subsequently to San Ysidro for Mexico. We never hired a car during our visit, but we saw the wineries near Temeculah, then Coronado, Seaworld, the Zoo, Balboa Park, and many other places easily reached by public transport (without needing timetables etc., and I bet we visited more places in SD Area/California on public transport than the OP has ever dreamed of or heard about (without ever once resorting to the internet or Wiki for directions)). It's called interacting with people. Oops - not politically correct. Sorry - NOT. 92.17.37.124 (talk) 20:36, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes, getting to and from the tourist destinations from Downtown isn't particularly challenging, but SD (and its surrounds) is a huge place. The public transport system is pretty dire unless you live on one of the trolley lines. As a visitor, I expect you never set foot in National City, Chula Vista, Lemon Grove or many of the city's neighborhoods that do not have tourist attractions. We offer a service in which we invite people to ask questions. Your comment, criticizing someone for doing just that, really isn't very constructive. Rockpocket 20:51, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

WWII and FDR

I recently saw a picture in which FDR is declaring war after the Japanese Pearl Harbor bombing. The caption specifically mentions the president wearing a black band without explaining its significance. What does the black band on his left arm mean? Is it something that presidents wear traditionally when declaring war or something? And also, when was the last time we officially declared war? Was it WWII?--A Real Kaiser...NOT! (talk) 07:06, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

See Armband. At that time, it wouldn't have been necessary to point out why he was wearing the black armband. They're worn when someone close to you has recently died or when some significant event has caused many deaths and you are in mourning. That custom is no longer widely observed though. Dismas|^(talk) 07:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

For the second question, see Declaration of war by the United States. The short answer is June 5, 1942. Dismas|^(talk) 07:49, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The armband was for his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who died 7 September, 1941.—eric 07:51, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

On a side note - this custom is still observed in the UK though mainly within sporting-events (footballers often can be seen sporting black-armbands). Politically I haven't noticed any recent times Prime Ministers wearing an armband, though wearing a memorial-day poppy is standard-issue for anybody appearing on tv in the weeks around Remembrance Sunday. The flag flying at half-mast policy seems to be the preferred method used in the UK for marking a tragic event. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 07:58, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Just to clarify the Poppy is the symbol of the sacrifice of so many men in WWI. The fields of Belgium were covered in poppies as the men died. Poppies of all sizes are marks of donations to assist today's injured troops.86.200.134.214 (talk) 10:45, 16 July 2008 (UTC)DT

Eeehhh *wibble motion with hand* Sort of. The association of poppies with the dead of WW1, the wearing of them and the whole remembrance thing was so grassroots in many ways, and in many ways continues to be, that it's hard to say exactly what it symbolises or marks to any given person. Certainly getting a plastic poppy involves making a donation to assist soldiers, or feeling horribly guilty, but I'd be careful of assuming someone wearing a poppy means the same as you do. 79.66.90.252 (talk) 22:12, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The arm band was more likely due to Pearl Harbour than it was for his mothers death, however his reasoning could have been two fold193.115.175.247 (talk) 13:39, 16 July 2008 (UTC)Zionist

This site agrees that it was for his mother. A Google search finds a number of mentions (and images) of him wearing it prior to the Pearl Harbor attack. Deor (talk) 16:07, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

He started wearing a black silk armband after his mother's death. "Mr. Roosevelt wore a dark blue business suit and black tie. On his left arm was a black silk band. He wore his glasses." (Washington Post, 10 September 1941, burial of FDR's mother) That's the only time the press mentioned the arm band—my bet is that he was still wearing it a few months later when Pearl Harbor was attacked. They saw fit to comment on it when he first put it on, but nobody said a thing about it later, leading me to think he hadn't changed anything about it. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:15, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

spanish city

capital of moorish spain in 8th century —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.237.157 (talk) 11:39, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Elvira, part of modern Granada in Andalucia, southern Spain, which went on to become the Alhambra Palace, one of the truly "must see" collections of buildings anywhere. Wiki has a very good series of articles about the Alhambra and Granada and their place in the Muslim Kingdom that was eventually conquered by the Spanish Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, thus returning all of Spain to Christian rule. 92.3.31.27 (talk) 11:49, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

And here are the links: Granada, Andalucia, Spain, Alhambra. StuRat (talk) 12:39, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The questioner asks for the capital of Moorish Spain or Al-Andalus in the 8th century. Granada did not become the capital of what remained of Al-Andalus until the 13th century. At the beginning of the 8th century, the Moors had not yet invaded Spain. After they conquered most of Spain, they established their first capital at Seville in 715. Four years later, in 719, the capital shifted to Córdoba, where it remained for the rest of the 8th century and right through until the 11th century. Even after the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Córdoba remained the chief city of Moorish Spain until its conquest by Castile in 1236. It was only during the final phase of the Moorish civilization in Spain that Granada was the Moorish capital. Marco polo (talk) 13:27, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

funny short story

Hi, I'm doing an funny short story for class and I wanted to know which is worse, Kate Humble dressed as Bill Oddie or Bill Oddie dressed as Kate Humble? Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.87 (talk) 13:46, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Worse in what way? Itsmejudith (talk) 14:03, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

That is a value judgement, and since you are the author, you're the one who gets to make the judgement. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 14:15, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

A male dressed as a woman is generally used more often for comedic effect than a woman dressed as a man. Namely because a woman in man's clothing isn't as easy to 'notice' the difference visually (plenty of female clothes look like men's clothes but with the exception of kilts and a few other items, men in dresses are instantly noticed as no dressed in 'male' clothing). For that reason I would suggest Bill Oddie dressed as Kate Humble... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.221.133.226 (talk) 14:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

I agree that men dressed as women tend to have more comedic potential, but Kate Humble (at least on Springwatch) doesn't really dress in a particularily feminine way. As far as I remember it is pretty much just jeans and jumpers, so unless he has got a curly blonde wig on as well then it may not look that strange. Franmars (talk) 15:38, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Has anyone seen the Goodies ?? 62.56.89.38 (talk) 00:23, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

That links to a disambig. page, so I'm guessing you mean specifically The Goodies? If so, to answer your question, no. Dismas|^(talk) 00:52, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Actually, to answer the question yes (given that "anybody" can be anybody, and someone somewhere must have watched it). I did, for one. Bigfoot, they call him bigfoot... Grutness...wha? 02:02, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Aribert Heim

So they believe him to still be alive and well and living in SAmerica. So 1, why doesn't some one just go there and strangle the bastard as has been done in the past by some Sonderkommando survivers as detailed in the movie and book Shoah. 2 could his daughter be prosecuted for harbouring a fugetive? or some other sort of crime such as hiding a mass murderer, conspiracy, aiding and abetting or accomplace to whatever. Thanks Zionist193.115.175.247 (talk) 15:26, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Finding one person in a place as vast as South America (which is 17,840,000 km squared according to the article) isn't exactly as easy as just 'going and doing it'. Secondly resorting to barbaric tactics against a barbarian reduces that individual to their level. Better that they are placed on trial and made accountable in a court-of-law for their actions, that way the hideous crimes they have committed are not reduced in significance by an angry-mob taking vengence on the person. Finally yes if someone is harboring a suspected criminal then my understanding is that most nations will consider that a criminal offence and upon finding them they too will be subject to prosecution and potential punishment for their crimes. ny156uk (talk) 15:52, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Why don't they go in and murder the guy? Well, the Sonderkommando survivors themselves are, at this point, in their eighties at best. They're not likely to be in any shape for trekking through South America and engaging first in possibly dangerous and positively arduous detective work and then some wet work. So why doesn't someone else do it? Because it is murder, for starters -- justifiable, possibly, but I'd say that most people don't see the appeal in murdering a guy who's so old that he's liable to drop dead any day now from natural causes (supposing that he's not dead already), no matter how much of an utter bastard he is. I don't think too many people want to go to jail for him. That's in addition to the fact that finding him is very, very hard, what with South America being just a little on the large side.

As for his daughter, prosecuting her might well be possible, but then again, that would require evidence that she knows where he is and that she has aided him, which is probably easier said than done. (In practice, this would probably require catching Heim himself first, as that would probably result in said evidence.) If she is helping him, they're probably not being stupid about it, as evidenced by the fact that he hasn't been caught yet. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 17:26, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

What species is my hat?

I have an old Russian fur hat(apparently a few decades old, since the label says "CCCP"), and I'm not sure what kind of fur it's made from. The fur is slightly coarse in texture, each hair about half an inch long, light brown and tipped with a darker reddish-auburn color. There are patches where off-white skin is visible. Based on this information, can anyone determine what animal the fur came from? 68.123.238.140 (talk) 16:00, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Ushanka might be helpful. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 00:00, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

From your description, it sounds like muskrat, or Ondatra zibethicus. Marco polo (talk) 01:41, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Joshin ya

Moved to the Language Desk: Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Language#Joshin_ya -- Coneslayer (talk) 17:01, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Tie-breaking procedures

Are there standard tie-breaking criteria for FIFA or CONCACAF football matches? I've been looking all over for the criteria for the [2008 Canadian Championship] and [2008 North American SuperLiga]. Can someone help me out? 75.21.167.0 (talk) 17:44, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

In general, in a knockout tournament (in a league a draw's a draw, of course), you possibly have a full replay, followed (or replaced) by extra time, have extra time, possibly followed by a replay (followed by more extra time), followed by a contest of kicks from the penalty mark. If you mean you want to know how ties are broken in league tables, it's normally on goal difference. But all this is not standardized; you should read the competition regulations to be sure. Algebraist 18:50, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Here are the Canadian regulations. I'm having trouble finding them for the superliga. Algebraist 19:01, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Almost every competition that needs a win goes to extra time before a full replay. DJ Clayworth (talk) 20:07, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

archaelogical materials

What defines archaelogical materials? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.143.240.83 (talk) 18:38, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Any material that would be of interest to an archaeologist, see archaeology

Was the question intended to be more specific??87.102.86.73 (talk) 19:13, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

By the way archaeology means 'study of old things'.87.102.86.73 (talk) 19:15, 16 July 2008 (UTC)