Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 February 23

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February 23

SF Story ID - generation ships

I vaguely remember reading an SF short story about a fleet of human ramjet ship escaping from a destroyed Earth (or similar), and searching for a new home. In the background, there is a Book of Job aspect, where the Devil has a bet with God, leading either of them to destroy every potential planet the humans encounter, to see how long they keep up hope and/or "trust in God" when every chance for survival gets smashed. But the humans just keep going, fixing and improving their ships, eventually evolving into a fully space-faring race living of the interstellar medium without need for planets, thus robbing both higher powers of the satisfaction of settling their bet. I was quite sure that it's Norman Spinrad's Riding the Torch, but now I noticed that that is a quite different story (indeed, it's a novel). Does my description ring anyones bell? Thanks! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 19:25, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Job: A Comedy of Justice by Heinlein was the first thought that came to my mind when you mentioned Job and Sci Fi, but that seems wrong. --Jayron32 19:28, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Yes, I know that book, but it's a even more different than Riding the Torch, which does at least have generation ships ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 19:38, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

Heartbreak Hotel

I'm trying to place a particular live recording of this by Elvis. I've only heard the audio, but he refers to 'the film' while he's chatting with the audience prior to beginning, so I'm assuming it was released on video at some point. Elvis is in a fun mood, joking about how "they'll cut that out of the film, I'll tell ya that folks" when he misspeaks and and mentions having 'your thing' in your pocket instead of 'your thumb'. He also jokingly mentions an earlier version of the song that went too fast and even burbles out a few nonsense supposedly sped-up syllables. When the song starts, the band misses a beat, Elvis chides them and then they get started again. I'd very much like to place when/where this was recorded. The quality - and Elvis' comments - suggests that it was an authorized recording rather than a bootleg, but anything is possible. However, a quick perusal at the relevant articles suggests that this was a very popular item during his live performances. I've gone through quite a few versions on Youtube, but with no luck, so I'm hoping that there are some fans of The King on here that recall where this is from. Matt Deres (talk) 22:34, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

I'm guessing this Elvis collectors forum thread was started by a post of the clip you're looking for, but unfortunately it's been deleted at youtube (or "unaivalable" according to the message I got). That OP apparently got it from Elvis The Way It Really Was - The Complete Uncut Outtakes. I couldn't find a clip, year, location, ...., sorry. ---Sluzzelin talk 23:22, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

(e/c) Well, I think you're absolutely right about that thread relating to the same show I heard. I suppose it was a bootleg recording, though it's odd that Elvis specifically mentions that some of his dialog will be cut out of the film. You've definitely given me a place to start, though it seems that there's an Elvis tribute by the same name and that will make things tricky. Matt Deres (talk) 01:35, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

Do you have a feel for "about" when it was made, i.e. does it look like the Elvis of the 50s vs. the 60s vs. the 70s? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:22, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

It's definitely Elvis of the 70's since most of his concerts were filmed and many are complete on disc / CD with outtakes & audience interaction. There are many online Elvis forums where audience members remember the last time they saw Elvis and the humorous jokes / one-liners he said between songs. Some of which were filmed / recorded. Maineartists (talk) 01:28, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

Why are you asking what era Elvis it "looks like"? The OP specifically said he has the audio but not the video. --Viennese Waltz 09:14, 24 February 2017 (UTC)