Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 October 15

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October 15[edit]

Best Sound Quality[edit]

Hi there. I was just wondering, based on other people's natural opinions, what is the company with the best sound for home theatre systems? I heard it was either Samsung, Sony, or Panasonic.Jk31213 01:27, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bose sound systems are usually considered to be some of the best in the business. However, they are also some of the most expensive. Equal or near-equal quality from other, cheaper brands is a common debate among audiophiles, but if you've got money to burn then Bose is probably your best bet.--SeizureDog 01:49, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You'll find that much disputed. Last time I checked (when I was buying my own home theatre, circa 2004) CNET had some helpful product comparisons, but that site seems harder to use now that it used to be. Unsourced opinion follows...
Since we're plugging brand names, I'll say I ended up getting Aperionaudio speakers. 3.1 for well under $1500 (there was a sale), used my old stereo speakers for the rear surrounds, and was extremely happy. However, I recommended comparably priced Klipsch to a friend since they had a color (midrange-y, "forward", kinda "rock") I thought she'd find pleasing whereas the Aperions were more neutral. Consumer quality amps all sound about the same as long as wattage is sufficient, so purchase receivers for power and features.
I'd like to see what someone comes up with for a well-sourced, NPOV answer. I have flunked. / edg 07:10, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
They tend to be the same.. - one good guide - feel the weight of the speakers - heavier is better - lighter will mean they are more lightly built and more prone to distortion. 83.100.255.190 09:55, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What are some short feature films?[edit]

By short, I mean films with a runtime between 40 and 60 mins.--SeizureDog 01:33, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Feature length films under 1 hour in length are rare in modern cinema. However, if you go back to the silent era you can find some. For example:
Rockpocket 05:50, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Two more recent and relatively short feature films I could come up with are The Land Before Time (1988, 69 minutes) and Zelig (1983, 71 79 minutes). They both lie above your defined running time span though. The longest post WWII film listed on list of short films is Coven (1997, 40 minutes). 40 to 60 minutes seems to be an unusual format, falling somewhere between featurette and feature film. Another example, but not really a feature film either, is Spike Lee's Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983, 60 minutes). ---Sluzzelin talk 08:35, 16 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In case anyone aside from me is interested, I recently discovered that the 2005 film The Call of Cthulhu is only 47 minutes long.--SeizureDog 07:53, 17 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Intriguing discovery! My source seems to have been mistaken, by the way, Zelig runs 79 minutes. But even under 80 minutes is rare these days. Children's movies are sometimes among the shorter ones. Feature length says definitions of the minimum range between 40 and 80 minutes. I suppose things look a bit different if you include TV productions. I wasn't able to find a sorted list or statistics of feature films by running time. Imdb doesn't seem to offer length as a search category. Category:Films by length isn't that helpful either: On the fat end it distinguishes categories for films lasting over 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 24 hours. On the other end it only has Category:Short films. Interestingly, the film Running Time has a running time of only 69 minutes.

whats it[edit]

5 percent of them known worldwide are actually worth it.what is it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.202.195.74 (talk) 08:33, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hookers? —Nricardo 10:45, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The answer could be almost anything. Can you be more specific? Even as a riddle the question is far too vague to have a unique answer.--Shantavira|feed me 12:30, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Damned riddle questions themselves perhaps? An ironic pub quiz question. Lanfear's Bane 12:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I'm guessing some form of currency. Dollars? Or maybe coins in general... Skittle 22:44, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Microsoft products? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlo2012 (talkcontribs) 14:37, 16 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Celebrities? 195.35.160.133 15:29, 16 October 2007 (UTC) Martin.[reply]

Politicians? -- JackofOz 01:42, 18 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia editors?  :)  :) -- JackofOz 01:42, 18 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Cheap dates? --24.249.108.133 23:30, 18 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Rouge admins? bibliomaniac15 20:20, 20 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

bai ling[edit]

i heard asked a question concerning a refugee who was named among the top 50 most beautiful people in the world and that the source of the question was from wikipedia.anyway the answer was bai ling.on your list of famous refugees u dont have her name there but on her article u state she is a chinese american —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.24.124.150 (talk) 13:53, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If she's Chinese American, I guess she's bilingual too.--Shantavira|feed me 15:20, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If on a sinking boat you might find her bailing? Can't beat bad puns. Lanfear's Bane 15:37, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Beach Boys song Forever[edit]

I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find the words to the song Forever? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.210.117.97 (talk) 16:45, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You can almost always find a host of lyrics sites by doing a Google search for song title artist lyrics - like so. --LarryMac | Talk 17:10, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
However, [1]. Confusing Manifestation 07:04, 19 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good books on the Post Office (US or UK)[edit]

Hello,

Does anyone out there know of any good books on the history of the mail / how the mail works. Either the US or UK systems will do.

Thanks,

--Grey1618 18:01, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No idea at all but here (http://postalheritage.org.uk/) might be a good start. Their shop http://postalheritage.org.uk/shop/ has a few books. ny156uk 17:27, 16 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  • I believe Anthony Trollope in his autobiography discusses the invention of the pillar/post box and his tours round Ireland to establish the postal system--hotclaws 08:37, 17 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Original Crazy Gang[edit]

I am trying to get information on my grandfather Billy Caryll who was one of the originalcrazy gang along with Hilda Mundy I know that they made films and records one film was I didn't do it with George Formby I would dearly like to find copies of their films, radio show, or records. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Caryll (talkcontribs) 20:55, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is a list of all of the movies made by Billy Caryll, but when you click on each individual film and look at the upper right hand corner, it doesn't look like any of them is available on DVD or VHS, at least not through amazon. You might look down the pages for each film to "Production Companies", and try to contact them, to see if the films are available anywhere. Corvus cornix 19:15, 16 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]