Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2010 April 26

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April 26

snow sport anime?

Out of curiosity, is there any anime about skiing/snowboarding? SYSS Mouse (talk) 01:04, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

There are video games - [1] but no films/movies I don't think. Chevymontecarlo. 12:07, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

• I don't know of any anime shows that are just about skiiers, but there have been plenty of shows that have included scenes on the ski slopes. --M@rēino 14:48, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Person in the middle

Who is the person in the middle? [2]174.3.123.220 (talk) 01:27, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Kurt Angle?--ChromeWire (talk) 02:48, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

From left to right (I know you didnt ask, but in case someone is curious) its Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and The Rock 206.252.74.48 (talk) 15:08, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Metal

How would one classify band such as Gojira and Mastodon? They make metal, yes this is obvious, but what type, they sing about esoteric healing, and out of body experiences. Band such as Entombed and Gorfest are Death and roll, Metallica and Slayer are thrash, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse are Death metal, but what about Gojira and MAstodon, they obviously play the same form of metal in my opinion. thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.59.90 (talk) 12:33, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, having just attended an amazing Mastodon concert myself, I think our article on the band is accurate in describing them as Progressive metal. 10draftsdeep (talk) 15:09, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

I'd agree that both could reasonably be described as progressive metal. The thing to remember is that these genres are all approximate and blur around the edges - a band can very easily fall into more than one of them. Certainly Gojira also get described as technical death metal quite regularly, which is another reasonable classification. ~ mazca ^talk 15:54, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

References in Robotman

Sine I'm not American, there are a few things I don't get in these strips with Robotman. The strips I'm talking about can be found here and here. All I know is that it have something to do with hippies. "1... 2... 3... What're fightin' for?" That seems familiar, as I have already seen that verse in Sam & Max Hit the Road. So where does it come from originally? Also, the phrase "Heck no! We won't go!" seems familiar too, but I have never seen it before. So where does that come from? And finally, what does PBS and Jesse Helms have to do with it? Grey ghost (talk) 14:57, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

"What are we fighting for" is from The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag, which is a famous anti-Vietnam War song and was performed at Woodstock. "Heck no we won't go" is also from anti-Vietnam protests (protesting the draft, specifically). See Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. PBS is much more intellectual than anything else on American TV. Jesse Helms was a Senator, basically known for being a very old southerner who thought it was still the 1850s. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:16, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The "1... 2... 3... What are we fighting for?" is from I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag, a song by Country Joe MacDonald made famous at Woodstock. It has (accurately in my opinion) been described as the greatest anti-war protest song ever. It's great stuff. "Hell no, we won't go!" or variants are classic protest chants that became popular during the Sit-in movement that became big in the 1960's. PBS is the "Public Broadcasting System", which is a government-supported TV network, and like all government supported programs in the U.S. is a frequent target of conservative politicians, like Jesse Helms, as being a "bleeding heart liberal" program (hence "PBS-watching vegetarian wussy".) Hope that helps. --Jayron32 15:21, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

I wouldn't be surprised if Helms opposed government funding of PBS. He remained staunchly rooted in the old south, and opposed anything he considered to be liberal. He was known as "Senator No". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:26, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

I should comment that PBS is only partially government supported, as their seemingly endless pledge drives would indicate. StuRat (talk) 16:05, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Is the "we won't go" thing from sit-ins or draft protests? Sit-ins makes more sense I guess. Adam Bishop (talk) 15:04, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

I think it's draft protests: The "we won't go" refers to getting shipped to Vietnam. Buddy432 (talk) 15:10, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes. Also, the chant, "Hey! Hey! LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:17, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

What type of keyboard is this?

I love the video on YouTube of Elvis Costello and the Attractions performing 'Watching The Detectives' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCBRohCCewM, but I am puzzled about what type of keyboard Steve Nieve is playing. The vast majority of the keyboards in the song are a Vox Continental combo organ but he has another keyboard on top with an unusual sound. I am minded to think it's probably some kind of electric piano but I have had a good look on Google and not seen anything that looks like this. It's a very compact keyboard but appears to be 'deeper' than most keyboards and it has something on the front under the keys which might help to give it away. You can see it in the video at 1:21, 2:50 and 3:46 and you can hear it at 1:46 (and other places).

If it's any help, Bad Manners' original keyboard player Martin Stewart appears to have a very similiar item on top of his Hammond organ in these two videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwshaZ8MeQs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhn6LS32lRo&NR=1 so I would guess it was something that was popular in the late 70s/early 80s.

Thanks for any insight anyone can give me on this. GaryReggae (talk) 17:28, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

I think that's a clavinet. At 3:00 on the Costello video you can hear a distinctive sound; I think that's the thing. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 18:09, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Actually, I was thinking that its a Rhodes PianoBass. That set-up (a Vox Continental and Rhodes PianoBass) was popularized by Ray Manzarek of The Doors. The sound of the PianoBass, which Manzarek used to emulate the electric guitar bass, has been used by many musicians to emulate or accent guitar basses. Rather than being a full synthesizer, a Rhodes piano was a true "electric piano" in the same manner as an electric guitar worked, with magnetic pickups mounted under vibrating elements. As such, the Rhodes worked well alongside guitar groups as it could easily be mistaken for a guitar or blend well with electric guitars. The Clavinet, noted above, is another possibility as it works much like a Rhodes does. The Clavinet was made famous by Stevie Wonder; that distinctive sound on Superstition (song) is a Clavinet. Garth Hudson of The Band used to use one too; the "jews harp" sound in Up On Cripple Creek was made by feeding the output of a Clavinet through a guitar's "Wah" pedal. --Jayron32 20:05, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Snoopy

Why does Snoopy dislike coconut candy? Viriditas (talk) 22:35, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Because it's vile? DuncanHill (talk) 22:36, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

In Hawaii, fresh coconut candy is fantastic and I've never heard a single complaint about it by anyone. I'm guessing this is a completely different product than the type of candy Snoopy is talking about, which seems to have been manufactured in Vietnam at the time it was written. I'm also wondering if this is a subtle political commentary by Schulz on the then Vietnam War, given that Snoopy was very patriotic and was himself a veteran of WWI. Viriditas (talk) 22:47, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Schulz's obituary mentions that he hated coconut candy. Probably just passed that along to Snoopy because it was easy. Also, as noted above, because it's vile. --Onorem♠Dil 22:51, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for finding the obit. That makes sense. Viriditas (talk) 22:56, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Schulz put a lot of his personality into the strip, spreading aspects of it across various characters. One of the most famous was Charlie Brown's unrequited love for a "little red-haired girl", who in real life was someone Schulz once proposed to, and was turned down. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:29, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

I'm trying to figure out if my love for root beer and pizza comes from my own experience or from reading Peanuts as a child. Viriditas (talk) 09:38, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

As for why one might dislike coconut, it irritates my throat, and probably many other people's throats, too. StuRat (talk) 02:24, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Interesting. I've never heard that before. Viriditas (talk) 09:38, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

And it sticks in my teeth. I'm always horrified when, on diving into a proffered box of chocolates, I end up with a mouthful of a coconut one. I have to remind myself urgently that it wasn't deliberate on the part of the giver; even though it tastes like they are trying to kill me, they meant it kindly. DuncanHill (talk) 09:56, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Try breaking it open first. And hope it's not a cherry cordial or some other drippy kind of candy. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:14, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

And the worst case would be coconut sprinkled into a spinach salad. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:20, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

That would ruin the spinach (which only sticks on the teeth, as opposed to in, that is to say between, the teeth, which is what coconut does). No, worst case would be some combination of coconut and tomatoes (which give me diarrhoea). DuncanHill (talk) 23:35, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

I love that we are close enough to share these facts... really sets me up nicely for my impending lunch break! :P Gazhiley (talk) 10:43, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Sharks (or possibly crocodiles) attack a country club

Resolved

I'm watching Red Water, and the opening bit where a girl gets killed by a shark reminded me of another film I've seen. This was set in some kind of country club, there was a gala event going on, corrupt land-developers, possibly an abandoned military base was involved at some point. Film was 70's (or just maybe early 80's). anyone got any idea what it was? DuncanHill (talk) 23:21, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

It is possible that the shark was a crocodile. DuncanHill (talk) 23:32, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Could be Lake Placid, although that's not from the 80s, or Alligator, which is. For all of Wikipedia's crazy categories, we don't have one about crocodile films! Adam Bishop (talk) 02:19, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Nope, definitely not either of those. The film was centred on a kind of country club/resort, there were lakes to swim in. They were having a big gala event, brass bands, local politicians on the make, etc. Probably a disgraced/drunk/widowed scientist or ex-sheriff who ultimately redeems himself/finds love. Lots of death and mayhem in the water, hordes of screaming fit young people in short shorts. DuncanHill (talk) 09:52, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Sounds rather like Jaws. 78.151.102.119 (talk) 16:06, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Except it was at a lake not the seaside, didn't have Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss or Robert Shaw in it, and the director (while I'm sure perfectly competent) was no Steven Spielberg. Oh, and I can remember Jaws rather well. DuncanHill (talk) 16:13, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Sorry if this is obvious, but how well do you know the other Jaws movies? We have decent articles on Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, and Jaws: The Revenge. Any of those synopses ringing any bells? Matt Deres (talk) 16:25, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

No, I'm sure it's none of those. DuncanHill (talk) 16:33, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Alright, how about this one... It has an abandoned military base, summer camp, a resort and a drunken character: Piranha (1978 film). 10draftsdeep (talk) 14:19, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

• 10draftsdeep, you are a star! That's the one! I'm amazed at your ability to interpret my terribly vague recollections. Thank you. DuncanHill (talk) 23:28, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Happy I was able to help! cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 13:36, 29 April 2010 (UTC)