Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2012 November 9

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November 9

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reface a clarinet mouthpiece

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What does it mean to "reface" a clarinet mouthpiece? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 00:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Refacing a clarinet (or saxophone) mouthpiece usually means adjusting the length of the gap between the reed and the mouthpiece itself. Refacing is done mostly to change the responsiveness of the mouthpiece, but it can impact other factors as well. It's also a rather finicky procedure, requiring lots of precision sanding. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 01:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, is there a name for sanding out the tooth marks? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:28, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The part of the mouthpiece where the player rests their teeth is the biteplate. Some biteplates are removable and/or replaceable. In that situation, you're talking about biteplate repair or replacement. Or simply describing this as "buffing out the tooth marks" might work just as well. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 02:49, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
  Resolved

thanks (I'm trying to describe one on eBay). Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 03:09, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Help finding a movie name

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I've seen a movie on TV which name ended in "Must Die" and before that there was a name, but I can't figure out which name it was. The movie has a presentation which shows that it was made in Japan or somewhere like that. The movie it's about the life of a boy who's friends who make him steal, and firstly his mother is angry with him because he'd been playing truant and he's never home. But then he starts viewing the videos of the company where he and his friends'd stolen and he kept a laptop. I've not seen the whole movie so I can barely say anything more.. I'd be pleased if anyone can tell me the name of this movie! 186.54.15.61 (talk) 02:52, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose it's not Romeo Must Die? Adam Bishop (talk) 03:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Alpha Must Die: [1] ? StuRat (talk) 05:09, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
John Tucker Must Die? Evanh2008 (talk|contribs) 05:36, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Adam Bishop, StuRat and Evanh2008... It's non of them, but thanks anyway! 190.134.23.99 (talk) 00:28, 12 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Harmonix Songs Online

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I may have tried to ask this before but I couldn't phrase it well.

Where can one find the bonus songs in Rock Band 1, 2, and (if any) 3 for download online? That is, is the music by the Harmonix employee bands available online? Are they too obscure? Is there a centralized location, or are they all on different record labels? If so, does it matter? The same goes for any of these in from the first two Guitar Hero games.

I suppose I went on a tangent, but I would love to know. 75.73.226.36 (talk) 03:44, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Looking for name & author of science fiction story

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I heard a short story years ago about a young girl who lives with her father alone in an old house. There's a room to which she is perpetually denied access, until one day she breaks into the room and finds an electronic version of herself being constructed. Shocked, she races out of the room, falls down the stairs and breaks part of herself off, realizing that she herself is a robot. My question is... where does the story come from?Markjoseph125 (talk) 14:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Scroll up this page to 5 November, where the near-identical question was asked, and was answered to the best of the RefDesk's abilities at the time. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 14:12, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent; but this just screams to have its original source in a 1950s science fiction story. I'm wondering if anyone can identify the story. Thanks!Markjoseph125 (talk) 05:21, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Help in recognizing two musical compositions

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I think I've heard before the two pieces played in these videos (during the written times), but I can't remember their names.

  1. 12:54–14:27
  2. 05:12–06:21

Do you recognize them?

Thanks a lot! 109.64.211.75 (talk) 15:06, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The first is the final galop from the "Dance of the Hours" from Amilcare Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda. It was famously danced by hippopotamuses in the original Disney film Fantasia. The first part of the piece (not heard in the clip) was parodied in the song "Hallo Mudda, Hallo Fadda".
The second is the "Can-can" from Jacques Offenbach's opera Orpheus in the Underworld.
See, opera can be fun (for all you operaphobes out there). -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 15:12, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! I actually like operas (and classical music), and now I found another one: 13:35–14:35. 109.64.211.75 (talk) 16:03, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
While I totally agree that opera can be fun, La Gioconda (opera), despite its name, is probably not the best example to prove this, as it has a gruesome and tragic plot. The Dance of the Hours is a rather incongruous interlude in the general gloom. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 22:54, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Yep, gloom, gruesomeness, tragedy, drama, murder, blood, death, anguish, despair - you've just described my idea of fun, Andrew.  :) -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 05:06, 11 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The late actor Tony Randall used to turn up on the Johnny Carson show occasionally, and he talked about opera. He said he liked it quite a lot, because the storylines were, in his word, "dirty". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots23:48, 12 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Dish Tv

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Yes my question to you is why doesnt Dish Tv carry the Christian Channel 'The Word Network' - This channel should be included in the christian package. Access to all christian channels should be automatic with any package no matter what. Please keep me informed if any changes could be made within this satellite network. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.21.200.123 (talk) 16:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC) [reply]

I suspect, based on your question, that you found one of our over 4 million articles and thought we were affiliated in some way with that subject. Please note that you are at Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and this page is for asking questions related to using or contributing to Wikipedia itself. Thus, we have no special knowledge about the subject of your question. You can, however, search our vast catalogue of articles by typing a subject into the search field on the upper right side of your screen. Best of luck. --Jayron32 17:20, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I suggest you call the company, request the mailing address of their corporate office, and send them a letter. Letters like that get a lot of attention because they assume that you represent thousands of people with the same view who are too lazy to bother to write. μηδείς (talk) 20:23, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hugo and Nebula First Contact

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I am interested in getting lists of Hugo and or Nebula award nominated or winning novels which deal with aliens or alien first contact. Is there a way to search for the intersection of various categories that will get me what I want? How would I go about that? Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 19:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

WP:CATSCAN may help... --Jayron32 21:50, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
One that sprung to mind right away is Rendezvous with Rama. --Jayron32 21:51, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
First contact (science fiction) has some examples as well. --Jayron32 21:54, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Rendezvous with Rama was great, but it had no effing sapient aliens! (Tried to read the sequel, but wasn't able to get into it. A Gentry Lee novel, no?) I will try CATSCAN. Thanks. But more suggestions will be welcome. μηδείς (talk) 23:50, 9 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Well, then who built Rama? --Jayron32 05:32, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
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The Lama Ding Dongs of course. Anyhoo, there's Have Space Suit — Will Travel, The High Crusade, Little Fuzzy, Ringworld, The Gods Themselves, The Mote in God's Eye, Titan, The Pride of Chanur, Cuckoo's Egg (sort of), Footfall, The Forge of God, and A Fire Upon the Deep for the earlier Hugo winners and nominees (not that familiar with the more recent).Clarityfiend (talk) 06:57, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
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Here's a little RD-best marquee for the lama ding dong answer. I have read all those books except Titan, Cuckoo's Egg and The High Crusade, and Little Fuzzy--which I actually began reading yesterday! I have tried to read A Fire Upon the Deep but I can't stand the guy's style. Thanks. μηδείς (talk) 16:28, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]
I asked the same question in IRC not too long ago. From the suggestions offered, I read and finished the main novels of the CoDominium series. As for the rest of the Rama series... they were meh. I'll save you the trouble by telling you that in the end even the "administrators" who oversaw the "collection" of samples of sapient lifeforms didn't have the faintest clue of who built the cylinders and the waystations as well, kind of like the monoliths in the 2001 series.
Though I'm pretty sure you've probably read these as well, I recommend Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, which I'm reading through myself right now, though they're not Hugo or Nebula winners. I've just finished the first four book, and I liked them so far. Even though it gets pedantic and repetitive (ideas and entire paragraphs often get transplanted verbatim from one book to another), it still contains some of the most alien settings I've encountered in science fiction. I recommend Flux and Raft especially, though they're technically not first contact novels. I'm having trouble getting into the first of the next books in the series though, the first of the Destiny's Children arc is set in the boring present... meh. I'm planning to put it off a bit and read Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series which has raving reviews (though also no Hugo nor Nebula).
You might also try using Goodreads to look for lists of books on that topic. Like this one on "Best aliens". And... OOOOOOOOOOH. A new Culture novel is out! :D *Disappears* -- OBSIDIANSOUL 17:32, 10 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]