Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Humanities/2006 August 13

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Humanities Science Mathematics Computing/IT Language Miscellaneous Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions at one of the pages linked to above.

< August 12 Humanities desk archive August 14 >



Contents

[edit] Shebby Singh

do you know anything about Shebby Singh? he was a host to Astro Supersport channel in Malaysia during the world Cup 2006. i heard from people that he was a defender in Malaysian National team before and from his look and accent i can guess that he is an indian ethnic. i would like to know more about his life history or something? --218.111.31.160 14:53, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Largest city..

What is the largest US city without a mcdonalds? --Geobeedude 01:47, 13 August 2006 (UTC)Geobeedude

First, define "largest" US city. Largest population? Largest land area? Do you include the entire metropolitan area? Compare this list to this page. --Kainaw (talk) 03:12, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
According to yahoo answers it is Hogshooter, Oklahoma with a pop of 143. But I know that is not true as my hometown has over 2,000 people and no mcdonalds. I think you would have to go smaller than that list of over 100,000. I know several cities of 20-30,000 and they each have at least 1 if not 2 or 3 mcdonalds. Nowimnthing 18:52, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Is there REALLY a place called "Hogshooter"??!?! --Dweller 15:26, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
You cannot rely on Yahoo! Answers. Most postings are jokes. --Nelson Ricardo 15:42, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

i could not understand Nowimnthing comment of a largest city with just 143 peoples. otherwise, largest city could be Delhi for about 15 million population and 1500 square kilometers in Area.nids 19:01, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

No, he said in the US.
Ps: If every town in the U.S. with over 143 people has a McDonalds, that's pretty sad. Russian F 19:19, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
When I was in 29 Palms, there was a big city holiday because the town finally got big enough to get a McDonalds. So, I assume there is a minimum town size required for McDonalds to allow a franchise. --Kainaw (talk) 21:06, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
  • somewhere in Alaska? hotclaws**==(82.138.214.1 15:34, 14 August 2006 (UTC))

[edit] 釘宮理恵

What does "釘宮理恵" mean? I'm not sure of the original language. Babelfish says if it's traditional Chinese, it's "Nail palace principle □"; whereas if it's Japanese, it's "Rie Kugimiya." Windows Media Player somehow came up with this as a folder name when it was sorting the song Banquet by Bloc Party. On a related note, what does "「りぜるまいん」主題歌～はじめてしましょ！｜ほんきパワーのだっしゅ！" mean? NeonMerlin 04:09, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

This belongs on the Language Ref Desk. StuRat 04:11, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
About your first query, it's most likely referring to Rie Kugimiya. Windows Media Player may be creating that as a folder name due to incorrect information in its CD identification databases. As for your second query, that reads "rizerumain" shudaika - hajimete shimasho! / honki pawa- no dasshu. A Google search for りぜるまいん turned up some results that seemed to be related to otaku culture. See [1] Cheers, Tangotango 04:43, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ingrown toenail and the military

I was watching a M*A*S*H episode and they were treating people for ingrown toenails and the people were embarrassed and wanted to keep it a secret. Is getting an ingrown toenail against military rules?

No, but it's evidence that they lied about their shoe size in their induction lol. No, just kidding. I don't remember that episode, but I'd guess that it's a pretty 'girly' condition for infantrymen to have to admit to being laid low by. Anchoress 05:07, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
It was Season 4 episode Hey, Doc
I seem to recall that the person treated was British and that foot care was considered very important after their experiences in the World War I trenchs (Trenchfoot). Rmhermen 18:12, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Wow, he must have been pretty old. Anchoress 21:05, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
The Korean War was about 30 years after WW1, so, if he was about 20 in WW1, he would be about 50 in Korea, not too old for an officer. StuRat 00:19, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Well, kinda. The end of WWI was 32 years before the beginning of the Korean war, so 50 is about the youngest he could be.Anchoress 00:22, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
  • An institutional healthcare priority within the British forces could easily outlive a personal aversion to trenchfoot. --Dystopos 15:33, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Social Cultural

There are people who live within their own community, build a large family, marry to other residents in their commnunity, does not allow television or newspapers in their homes, everyone works including the children, and only a few people who are leaders of the commnunity can go outside of their commnunity. What do we call these groups of people? I have seen they lived in Alburqueque, New Mexico and La Honda, Zacatecas, Mexico. They are not polygomists and prohibit divorces. The commnunity is caucasians, I think they are German descendants. Thank you for all your responses. Masterhp 05:06, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

North Koreans.
No, joking aside, it really depends on the cultural context. You could call them a slew of things, such as "xenophobic", "endogamous", "controlling", etc. Which people in particular are you thinking about? The Jade Knight 05:25, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Amish? - Pyro19 05:27, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
That's a good one, too. The Jade Knight 05:28, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
The questioner's description is a close match with the breakaway Mormon community in Bountiful, British Columbia and Hildale, Utah.Anchoress 05:34, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
That came to mind as well (though I wasn't sure about the media ban and child labor). The Jade Knight 05:39, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Media ban, definitely. As for labour, if you call being forced to quit school at 14 and give birth once a year for the next 25 years child labour, then - yeah. ;-) Anchoress 05:41, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Additional comment on the section added to the bottom of the original question: That's an Amish community. Anchoress 05:50, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Hmmm, actually on further investigation they may be Mennonites. Both have communities in the town you mentioned. Anchoress 05:53, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

For further reading, see Anabaptists (Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites), as well as the Church of the Brethren. Here in the Midwestern U.S., German Baptists (sometimes called Dunkards) are often mistaken for the Amish. --Kevin (complaints?) 17:50, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

How about the Hidden Jews of New Mexico? Hm. I thought we would probably have an article on them, but I couldn't find one. User:Zoe|(talk) 22:16, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Not likely, considering the fact that the Spanish had not reached New Mexico by the year 1492, let alone 200,000 Jews. (Having looked at the link closer, I see that they claim that these Jews converted in Spain, and then came to New Mexico. They offer absolutely nothing to back up their claims of such a phenomenon, and it does not seem to be documented anywhere but on their radio program.) The Jade Knight 00:37, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
That site is by far not the only place where the subject is mentioned, in fact it's just the first one I found when looking it up. I have heard of the Hidden Jews of New Mexico many times, not from that site. User:Zoe|(talk) 00:59, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
I've heard of the Jackalopes of Nevada all over, too, and even seen "photographs". You have to forgive me for being a skeptic. The Jade Knight 05:01, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Roof Replacement

Masterhp 09:31, 13 August 2006 (UTC)Which energy efficient bricks are available in the market with reasonable prices?

I suggest you go to your local home improvement store. If you live in the US, Home Depot or Lowes will work great. They will definitely have someone there that can answer your question. I don't know of any foreign equivalents of Home Depot or Lowes, so I can't help you there. schyler 12:40, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
In the UK you've got B&Q and in the Netherlands, I think it's 'Gamma'. Can you not find anything via Google? --130.161.182.91 13:36, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Wikipedia's expertise in not in current products and markets. I am unfamiliar with brick roof systems. If you refer to clay tiles, there are many recyclers of salvaged tile, but they are usually small local or regional outfits. --Dystopos 15:37, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spartacus

In the recent Spartacus it talks about the republic,however here it says the republic was founded in around 44bc??also who was the emperor/king?and what was he doing during all this?it doesnt even mention one in the movie??Dagon13 10:17, 13 August 2006 (UTC)Nasir

According to most sources the Roman Republic ended in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar was proclaimed dictator for life. The uprising led by Spartacus took place before that, between 73 BC and 71 BC. So at the time there was no emperor yet. David Sneek 11:28, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Recent? - Have they remade Spartacus? AllanHainey 11:58, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Play it like...

I watched an episode of 20/20 or Dateline (I can't really remember) and there was a special on mentally chalenged kids who could play the piano incredibly well (good?). One that stuck out was a UKer who was blind and somewhat retarded. But he remembered every single piece of music he ever played. He was asked to play Beethoven's Fur Elise, and he did so without even thinking. Then the interviewer asked him to play Fur Elise as if [J.S.] Bach had written it. This intrigued me. He played it with a lot more decorative stuff (e.g. gracenotes). What did this mean? schyler 13:11, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I think he wanted to add some typical baroque ornamentation. David Sneek 13:43, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Yah, but like Bach. What does that mean? Is there a cetrain kind ofway Bach wrote his pieces that you could hear a piece and say , 'Oh. That piece is by Bach. No doubt.' schyler 14:06, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

There can always be some doubt, as is illustrated by the frequent misattribution of Bist du bei mir and the Eight Short Preludes and Fugues. But someone who uses the ornaments of that time, shows some contrapuntal invention and has some knowledge of Bach's style, would certainly be able to do a convincing imitation. (Here - if it works - is a funny fragment of Peter Ustinov improvising a fake Bach aria.) David Sneek 14:23, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
In the film Amadeus Mozart is also asked to play a piece "in the style of Bach". Yes, most composers have a somewhat recognizable style, and many composers have actually written some piece "in the style of X", where X is a different composer. --LambiamTalk 19:38, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Think of it in terms of modern music instead of classical. Most people could easily hear the difference in style between, say, The Beatles, The Rollings Stones and Led Zeppelin, even if it was only an instrumental part and you never heard the song before. Same thing with writers, painters, actors, operas, and indeed classical music. Listen to a few of Bach's compositions, then listen to a few of Beethovens. I can guarantee you that you would hear a difference in style. Oskar 21:41, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
A number of people have written variations on a theme, where each variation imitates the style of a different composer or is meant to sound as if it were written by that composer. One who comes to mind is Siegfried Ochs (no WP article), who wrote "Humorous Variations" on the German folk song Kommt ein Vogel geflogen, in the styles of about 10 other composers. Victor Borge also had a routine where he played "Happy Birthday" as if written by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms etc. JackofOz 02:24, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tattooing

How does a Tattoo artist practice tattooing? If the artist messes up while drawing on someone's skin, that's obivously a big problem. So how do they practice and make sure they don't make mistakes? Drawing on paper can't be the only practice, as skin is very different to paper, right? Anyone have an answer. --Burbster 13:45, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

  • Sure. One option is "practice skin" -- here's an ad for the brand "Almost Skin". --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 15:46, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Yourself and your friends is probably one of the more popular and yet potentially damaging ways. I have also heard of using the skin of fruits like oranges or the skin of a (dead) pig. Ink drawing can be very helpful as you will learn not to make mistakes (at least not ones you cannot fix.) The skin substitutes help you get a feel for the depth. Nowimnthing 18:15, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Homeless In The Netherlands? Find Out Next Week!

I live in the Netherlands and my subletting contract expires at the end of this month. I'm trying to find accomodation near Haarlem but its difficult to find places with suitable dates (and prices!). The first time round, I ended up living in Delft on my 30th attempt through kamernet.nl (arranged just under a week before I arrived) so I'm wondering what happens if I fail to get accepted by a new landlord - it must occur - what does the government do with the people who fail to shift from one room to the next in time? Is this what they mean when they warn about stepping out into the world? --Username132 (talk) 13:45, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

A subletting contract? Subletting is not usually allowed in the Netherlands. In general, a Dutch rent contract can only be ended if both parties agree, so maybe you should look into that. David Sneek 13:59, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
According to this source the person that sublets the place can demand that the person that subrents leaves, at the end of the agreed term. (And so can I, but I assume this means they have some way of enforcing this.) --LambiamTalk 16:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Not an answer to your questions but hopefully an answer to your problem: try marktplaats.nl and speurders.nl. You'll be suprised about the housing ads at these sites. I hope you've got some other place you can stay at in the meantime, at family or at friends. Good luck!

[edit] Are Jews more Intelligent?

Are jews more intelligent than folks following other religion? If yes, why is that such? Help.

Quoting from our article Race and intelligence:

Ashkenazi Jews score significantly higher than other groups (107-115) in the U.S. and Britain, but estimates of the average IQ of Ashkenazim in Israel may be somewhat closer to the European mean.

Anything in this area will be hotly debated, including whether, if true, it is genetic or cultural (like valuing intellectual achievement is part of Jewish tradition), but few will ascribe it to religion. Read the article. --LambiamTalk 17:01, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Personally, I find it very improbable that a whole ethnic group is signifiantly more intelligent than average. The reasons for Ashkenazi Jews scoring that high in the U.S. and the U.K. may be easier explained by just highly educated intellectual elites immigrating those countries instead of a more heterogeneous group. But that's solely my hypothesis. --GTubio 20:57, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
I really have no clue as to the answer to either of those questions. I just thought it might be helpful to bring up the old "nature or nurture" concept. Jews may indeed score higher, but this may be attributed to nothing more than education (nurture). The word "Jew" actually refers to two entirely separate concepts. It can refer to one's nationality (nature) or one's religion (nurture). What would be interesting is if there were studies of those few "Jews" who belong to one category but not the other. For example, a Jew by nurture but not by nature (e.g. a child whose biological parents were not Jewish, but who was adopted at infancy by a religious Jewish mother and father) vs. the opposite, a Jew by nature but not by nurture (e.g. the opposite, a child whose biological parents were Jewish, but whose adoptive parents were not). A study into that would actually be very interesting. Loomis 22:54, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
There was a paper a couple years ago, which the Race and intelligence article is refering to. The hypothesis is that Jews in much of Europe were forbidden from almost all professions except banking, where mathematical ability is very important. This (supposedly) caused such a strong selection effect that over the course of about a millenium the Askenazi became significantly smarter. But there was a tradeoff: the authors linked it to the high occurence of certain heriditary neurological disorders like Tay-Sachs. They compared it to a situation in some African populations where having a single copy of a gene conveys resistance to malaria but having two causes sickle-cell anemia.--Pyroclastic 19:20, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
As Loomis already suggested, you're mixing up religion and ethnicity (except that he used the word 'nationality', which seems a bit odd). I don't know about the ethnic side of this (although the success of Jews in all sorts of intellectual fields is rather suggestive), but there appears to be a relation between religion in general and intelligence, in the sense that intelligent people tend to be less religious: see Religiosity and intelligence. DirkvdM 10:01, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Regarding the terms: nationality vs. ethnicity, this would seem to be a cultural issue. It would appear that in Europe, the term "nation" would seem to be something of a four-letter word (for plenty of good reasons), demanding the euphemistic term "ethnicity". But here in North America, and especially Canada, having pride in one's nationality is actually seen as positive, and harmless. One big example is that most French Quebecers, both separatist and federalist, freely refer to themselves as "nationalists", and members of the Quebecois "nation". In fact our indigenous groups are refered to as our "First Nations". Nobody here has any qualms about this terminology. The sensibility here in North America is quite different from that Europe, as I don't recall we've started too many world wars in the recent past. However, if you prefer to call, say, the people of Italy or Greece as ethnic groups rather than nations, then, I suppose it would only be consistent to refer to the Jews as an ethnic group as well. However over here, from my perspective, Jews, Italians and Greeks are all national groups. Loomis 02:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
But of course. How else are we to take over all forms of mass media (with the possible exception of JewWatch.com) as well as the world banks, at the same time as we slaughter Christian children (to make bread with)? —Daniel (‽) 15:40, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Jews migrated to the USA as communities, not on individual basis. Nationality is more nurture then nature. A proof of this is the Finno-Ugric language family, which consists out of Mongolian-looking people and Northern European looking people. Jews are mixed. Former European Jews are much whiter then former Arab Jews. A final answer to your question is impossible to make.--Daanschr 18:27, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Pretty broad generalization there. I know my father's grandfather emigrated as an individual, not as a community; and his cousins emigrated piecemeal over the next 40 years (too bad more of them didn't, all thigns considered.) My not-quite-tongue-in-cheek answer to the original question is, "Yes. We breed for intelligence." --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 20:33, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

There are plenty of dumb Jews (I don't think Yasmine Bleeth is going to cure cancer) and smart Gentiles, but I'd guess Jews might score higher on intelligent tests because they are probably better educated on average. -- Mwalcoff 00:19, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Of course Jews aren't more intelligent, that would be racist. We're just less stupid. :--) Loomis 22:49, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] BMD

I have a great grand father called Frederick James Dady and i cant remember what i want to know about him! Oh well, what i was wondering about was the birth marriage and death registrations. He was actually born on a day trip out to Cromer, Norfolk, England in 1892 but his parents lived in Stanfield. In the 1901 england and wales census it says he was born in Cromer but in the 1837-1983 birth regestration thingy it says he was registered in erpingham. If you look at a map of norfolk you will see why this appears odd. (If you have trouble finding some of the places stanfield is nearly directly between fakenham and dereham and erpingham is a few miles north of aylesham.) I would like to know any reasons why this has happened? There are no family links (at the time) with the area around erpingham as they were around the swaffham to holt area. I do have some theories: 1) After he was born, unexpectantly, in cromer they might of taken the then main road back home which would have taken them through erpingham and decided to register him there. Did the main road go through erpingham back then? 2) erpingham was the main regester place thingy, althought i doubt this as erpingham is a very small village and there were bigger and closer places which would probably of had regester place thingys. 3) they could have just liked erpingham or it could have been for some random strange reason.

i suppose you have to be very un-interested in practically everything else to bother to answer this question, i am so iv given you the pleasure of trying to answer it. thankyou--William dady 17:52, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, you got me by the balls. I have no idea AdamBiswanger1 03:34, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Ouch. Erm... I'm going to throw some other thoughts out on this one: perhaps if they used a midwife, the midwife was from Erpingham and filled out the necessary paperwork for them and registered it with whatever officials were there; it's possible that Erpingham was a bigger deal in terms of local and regional government at that time, and a central office of some sort was there (towns appeared, disappeared and varied in size and importance ridiculously easily in earlier days); or perhaps someone buggered up in the main office and got the registration wrong. But I think it'd be challenging to figure any of that out officially, and being on the wrong continent I think I'll leave it for someone else. Tony Fox (arf!) 15:49, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Looking at the map I don't see why this appears odd. Erpingham is more or less on the way between Cromer and Stanfield, Norfolk. I don't know what would have been a good route in those days, but the A140 wasn't there, and quite possibly there was no road where the A140 runs now. Does the "1837-1983 birth regestration thingy", whatever that is, give a date, and is it the next day? Does it give the name of the person who did the registration and does (s)he have the Dady family name? --LambiamTalk 23:09, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
The "1837-1983 birth regestration thingy" is probably FreeBMD. However, the cause of confusion here is that people were not registered in specific villages or towns; they were registered in specific districts. One of the registration districts in Norfolk was Erpingham; details on that are here. Note that Erpingham, the district, contains the parish of Cromer... and there's your answer. Shimgray | talk | 23:16, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Saturday

Why is Saturday named afer a roman god, if the week is of christian origin? --192.94.73.1 21:01, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

You might as well ask: if the week is of Jewish origin, why are several days named after Germanic Gods? The concept of the week spread from one culture to another ("Various groups of citizens of the Roman Empire adopted the week, especially those who had spent time in the eastern parts of the empire, such as Egypt, where the 7-day week was in use", the week article says), and the names of the days reflect this mixed background. David Sneek 21:12, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
As I understand it the days of the week are named after the sun, moon, and the five planets visible to the naked eye, which are named after Roman gods. In English four of those planet's names were translated into the names of the equivalent Anglo-Saxon gods (Mars>Tiw, Tuesday; Mercury>Woden, Wednesday; Jupiter>Thunor, Thursday; and Venus>Freye, Friday), but the Anglo-Saxons mustn't have had a god equivalent to Saturn, so it stayed Saturn. In French and Spanish the names of the days of the week still derive from the Roman gods' names. --Nicknack009 21:16, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Your answer is better than mine. David Sneek 21:24, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
This is a little simplistic. First of all, there isn't such a neat explanation for all of them (check out articles Monday, Tuesday, etc. for more details). First of all, Oden/Odin/Wotan is NOT equivalent to Mercury/Hermes (I mean, not at ALL), he is much, much more like Jupiter/Zeus. Actually, he's like this wierd mixture of Jupiter. Mars, with a little bit of Minerva thrown in (his three major roles where god of war, god of wisdom and king of the gods). Thor, while being the god of thunder and a bit of an ass, shares little resemblance to Jupiter. Most notably, he's very stupid (one could argue that Jupiter isn't the sharpest god in the pantheon either, but still, he's not a moron). Tyr is kindof like the god of war, but not really. I mean, Oden is definitly the god to go to, Tyr is more of a glory of battle kindofa guy. Freja, however, is fairly similar to Venus. Also, there are no direct connection between the Aesir and the planets, that's a greek thing. The names of the days of the week has snuck in from a number of places, mostly Nordic mythology obviosly, but there is no conveinient answer like yours (unfortunatly). Oskar 21:36, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
You have two "first of alls." Or are they supposed to be nested first-of-alls? --LarryMac 20:51, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
True enough, although I don't know whether the Anglo-Saxon gods' roles are exactly the same as the Norse ones. Matching up gods from different cultures is a very inexact science. You could say Woden and Jupiter are equivalent because they're both chief of the gods, or Jupiter and Thunor because they're weather/sky gods. There's a passage in Plutarch's On the Cessation of Oracles about "Saturn" being imprisoned under the earth in an island near Britain that makes me think Loki could be considered an equivalent to Saturn, on a similarly flimsy basis. --Nicknack009 21:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Why would you say that the week is of Christian origin? The article you hyperlinked to explains that the seven day week was used far before Christ not only by ancient Jews (who, from a Christian perspective I suppose could be characterized as "proto-Christians"), but by civilizations completely unfamiliar with any Abrahamic religion, such as Babylonians, Hindus, the Chinese and the Japanese, all also before Christ. Loomis 22:29, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
it doesn't matter whether Woden/Odin was "equivalent" to Mercury; it is enough that classical authors (Caesar, Tacitus,...) identified him with Mercury. At the time there could be any question of introducing weekdays for the Christianized Anglo-Saxons (6th century), there could be no question of not following the established interpretatio romana equations Woden=Mercury, Donar=Jove etc. dab (ᛏ) 20:47, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
I've read somewhere or other that Odin is identified with Mercury because both guide the souls of the dead. —Tamfang 06:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] foreign ambassador's benefits

What benefits do ambassadors in Canada receive? Thanks very much. --209.135.110.13

Presumably they get a salary from the government they are representing, as well as a pension build-up and paid medical care. They will typically live in a house owned by and paid for by their country. They must attend a good deal of receptions, with free snacks and booze. And they enjoy diplomatic immunity. None of this is specific to Canada. Was there something more specific you had in mind? --LambiamTalk 23:17, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Latin's death

When and why did Latin become a dead language? Reywas92 21:29, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, it's not really dead, you know. It's just "evolved"—into Spanish, French, Italian, etc. All languages change over time, and Latin was no exception. A more detailed answer could get very complicated (such as dealing with the nationalist tendencies that encouraged Romance nations to discard academic Latin for the "vernacular" language). Eventually, local versions of Latin became so different as to be unrecognizable as Latin, and international standards of Acadamia and writing (and particularly ecclesiastical) traditions encouraged the retention of Latin even as the general speakership of "Latin"-speaking countries had their languages evolve in different manners… I recommend you take a look at language change. Also, specifically, take a look at History of Latin. The Jade Knight 21:34, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
Technically Latin is still the official language of the Vatican City. As the Roman empire crumbled the people lost the knowledge to read and write (too a overwhelming extent). Latin was also mixed with the languages of the invading barbarians. And any language which is only spoken and not written evolves much more rapidly and easily splits into many local dialects. As languages weretaught (and standartized on a national scale) in schools and unirversities again they became much more stable but by then they were not Latin anymore. Nevertheless Latin is still the language of the Roman Catholic Church and the Mass (liturgy) was still spoken in Latin until 1970. You should also take a look at romance languages. Flamarande 22:18, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
See History of Latin.
Latin is a language
As dead as dead can be:
It killed the ancient Romans,
And now it's killing me. =P —Keenan Pepper 00:43, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
A dead language is defined as a language with no native speakers, but as Latin flowed directly into romance languages there is no one clear date when this was. An important spear in the back of Latin was when Heraclius made Greek the official language of the Byzantine Empire; the successor to the Roman empire. MeltBanana 03:10, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
It is more accurate to say that the Roman Empire "morphed" into the Byzantine Empire; it was simply the surviving Eastern part of the Empire while the Western part was overrun. --LambiamTalk 08:35, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
One images that an individual raised in Vatican City might well have as his primary/native language Ecclesiastical Latin; as it happens, though, the Vatican's birth rate is exceedingly low... :) Joe 06:52, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Can we point to a date when writers began to distinguish between the vernacular and the written language? —Tamfang 04:19, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Sometime during the Middle Ages, I would say. My guess would be 10th or 11th centuries, though it may have been earlier. And certainly, there was a distinction between "vulgar" Latin and earlier forms… The Jade Knight 04:59, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
The Strasbourg Oaths show that proto-French was recognized as different from Latin by as early as the 9th century. I'm not sure about the other Romance languages, but I don't think anyone ever considered Italian to be a separate language until much later, 12th or 13th century (but it is much closer to Latin anyway). Adam Bishop 05:23, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Methinks this is on the wrong desk... -- THE GREAT GAVINI {T|C|#} 08:20, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Overview of Belgian ambassadors

Hello,

I have been looking for some time, but I cannot find a site giving the names of (current and former)Belgian ambassadors (thus I mean ambassadors who are Belgian and working in a different country than Belgian).

The ironic thing is that I am trying to find out information about someone in my own family who appears to have been ambassador, unfortunately as usual a family's memory fades.

I would have a particular interest in the ambassadors to Sweden, Iran and Romania.

Any help or hints would be appreciated very much. Thanks, Evilbu 22:13, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

This list should do. Mr. Raoul Delcorde is ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Philippe Roland to Romania, and Mr. Jacques Vermeulen to Iran. --Thunderhead 22:28, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, while the link is interesting, my problem is even harder : I am talking about ambassadors from 1970-now, not just the current ones. I agree that wasn't clear in my original question, it has been changed now. There seems to be confusion about whether or not he was the ambassador to Romania when Ceaucescu fell from power (which is -sadly- remembered almost exclusively in Belgium because of the dead of one Belgian cameraman). By the way : I am Belgian (but that was probably obvious), so links in Dutch are no problem and in French shouldn't be either (hopefully). Evilbu 22:35, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Two solutions to find an answer - the first is to try dropping a letter or email to a) the Belgian Foreign Ministry (or equivalent) and b) the Belgian embassy in those countries - they'll certainly have records of past postings to those countries. If you tell them the name of the guy you want, it'll help, and be as specific as possible - was he the ambassador, or embassy staff?
The second solution is to go to a largish library and look for Belgian government handbooks, almanacs, etc, from the right period - these generally list the current ambassador to a given country. I can't suggest any specific series of books, though; I'm not sure what the standard almanac is in Belgium. Shimgray | talk | 14:21, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] what living actor has been in the most films

what living actor/actress has been in the most films to date?

I suspect it would be an extra or stuntman, as they only may need to spend a small amount of time on each movie. StuRat 00:37, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
According to imdb, the most prolific actors are usually voice actors, or actors who have done a lot of voice acting. If we leave off Howard Stern, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, the highest living actor is James Ellis. If we leave off voice acting, then it appears to be William Shatner. If you only want to count films, imdb doesn't help. User:Zoe|(talk) 01:08, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I heard it was Clint Eastwood, watched a TV program --mboverload@ 01:20, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

James Ellis has been in only 55 movies or TV shows. That's chicken feed compared to some actors. But what did you mean by "the highest living actor"? JackofOz 02:14, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
The one highest on imdb's list of prolific actors. It looks like imdb is counting every episode of "Z Cars" for James Ellis. That would skew Shatner, as well, for his series work. User:Zoe|(talk) 02:16, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Indian film industry has numerous actors and actresses who have acted in more than 200 films. Mohanlal and Jagathy Sreekumar (more than 1000 films) are still very active. Sukumari, a veteran actress, has acted in more than 2000 films and is believed to be the most prolific fim personality--Tachs 09:28, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
if you want to know about an actor as an hero, he is Mithun Chakraborty with about 200 films as a hero in hindi films, and a large no. in other indian languages.nids 23:05, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
  • Probally Don Lafontaine, he has done the voice over for 4000 movie trailers?

The question itself needs to be refined.

I don't believe that voiceovers, television episodes, or commercials was what was meant. The questioner probably was not looking for stuntmen, extras, or members of the Indian film industry.

Restricting ourselves to persons whose names might be recognized, say those in line to possibly be nominated for an acting Oscar, go with Christopher Lee with over 250 film credits. B00P 23:05, 18 August 2006 (UTC)