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August 21

Fantasy football- insider betting

So I realize that insider sports betting for people who can influence the outcome of a game they bet on is illegal. Does the same carry over to fantasy sports leagues with entry fees (and thus, prizes)? For example, if an american football coach decides to sit all of his players but one so that he'd win his fantasy championship game (let's assume there's no real life issues at stake), could he be fined and/or suspended? Buggie111 (talk) 00:57, 21 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

This will vary according to the sport and precise rules. In major league baseball, for example, the behavior would not violate the flat ban on betting on baseball games in Major League Rule 21(d), but it would violate Major League Rule 21(a) because the coach would not be giving his best effort to winning. See the rules here (this is a little out of date, I don't know if there has been any change in the rules since 2008). If the activity were egregious enough, it might also subject the coach to prosecution, probably for wire fraud. John M Baker (talk) 14:27, 22 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Betting on baseball is forbidden in organized baseball. I doubt betting on one's sport would be tolerated within any other sport, either, as it opens the door to big trouble. There's really nothing to stop a participant of one sport from betting on a sport he has no connection with, although it's not usually greeted with joy by the folks who run the sports. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:38, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Betting on football games is also verboten. Article IX, item (C)(12) of the NFL Bylaws (see here) basically says that no owner, coach, player, or other employee shall attempt to influence the outcome of any part of the game for the sake of winning money in any pool or wager. A fantasy football team where money is on the line certainly qualifies as a "pool or wager", and as such, any player or coach who altered his decision making for the sake of his or another's fantasy football league pool would be in deep, dark doo-doo. --Jayron32 23:54, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

(let's assume there's no real life issues at stake) - How is this scenario possible? --Onorem (talk) 23:56, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If a coach were a member of a Fantasy Football league where one of his own coached players was on the fantasy team of another person in his league, he could sit that player and penalize his fantasy league opponent by not playing the player he had the control over. That is baldly and obviously against the NFL bylaws (see my cite above) and as such, would plainly get the coach in some serious shit. --Jayron32 23:58, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I meant something like "The coach of said team has already qualified for the playoffs in his real-life sports league, and is now just playing for pride. Thus, he can afford to lose a real life game in order to win in fantasy". Buggie111 (talk) 03:28, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There is no such thing. The bylaws make no such mention of "games which don't count for playoff seeding" or any such thing. Every game has implications for a myriad of reasons (player performance bonuses, chance of injury, hiring and firing over team and player performance, etc.) and every game is under the same restrictions against gambling of all forms. --Jayron32 11:57, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Right, so we can go in and argue about the nitty-gritty. In a coach's eyes, the two most important things are playoff seeding and injury. Benching all of his first-stringers in a meaningless game (for the coach), like Week 17 for the Green Bay Packers in 2011 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Green_Bay_Packers_season#Week_17:_vs._Detroit_Lions), is an example of what I'm talking about. Buggie111 (talk) 16:43, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Right, and if he did so while winning a shitload of money in his Fantasy Football league, he'd be fired. --Jayron32 17:38, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nice to see that we're on the same page. Buggie111 (talk) 20:07, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's called the Wikipedia Entertainment Reference desk. :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:41, 24 August 2013 (UTC) [reply]

Thanks?...but yeah, I understood the premise of the question...except for the 'let's assume there's no real life issues at stake' part. There is no situation I can think of where there's no real life issues at stake in the game. --Onorem (talk) 05:19, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Airplane Repo

Hi, There is a new show called Airplane Repo on the Discovery channel. I cannot find anything about it on the website.

Thank you,

Phillip Stalnaker — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.177.116.190 (talk) 19:31, 21 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia doesn't have an article Airplane Repo, although it is namechecked as a red link in several articles. This is because nobody has written about it here yet. If you don't fancy creating an account and tackling the task yourself, you can list it at Wikipedia:Requested articles, although it's unlikely to happen quickly. You can also put together a draft, with sources, and post your material at Wikipedia:Articles for creation as the raw material for an article. Failing that, you must resign yourself to waiting until the subject inspires somebody to start writing. I fixed the indent on your question above so it displayed correctly. - Ka renjc 21:33, 21 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

August 22

Debussy

First of all, happy birthday Debussy!

There is something which has always interested me. Why does Debussy's music have so many slurs in the sheets? They look quite crazy, especially when they go from one staff to the other one. Was he simply very precise at notating phrasing or how had music changed during his era?--95.116.221.34 (talk) 05:04, 22 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It's hard to give an answer to this, hence the delay. But this beautifully written piece may give you some insight. Enjoy. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:09, 25 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

August 23

What other war films / shows depict enemies making friends by serendipity?

As you saw in that portion of The Blue and the Gray, two enemy soldiers end up being unable to shoot each other so when the situation evens out too well, they just start talking and become friendly with one another, eventually making a bargain to surrender to the other depending on which side wins the nearby battle that day.

That was a scene from a battle of the American Civil War. What similar scenes can you recall and (possibly) link from other wars, before and since? I hope especially to see such scenes from films about battles in WWII, the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf and any war afterwards. Thanks in advance. --69.77.96.200 (talk) 20:02, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

On a larger scale, there's the WWI Christmas truce, which is depicted in Oh! What a Lovely War, and possibly in other films. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 20:20, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Summer of My German Soldier ? More of a romance than friendship, though. StuRat (talk) 20:21, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You might find some more among the examples given in "Friendly Enemy" (TV Tropes). ---Sluzzelin talk 21:28, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Joyeux Noël. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:35, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Enemy Mine (novella), and the film adaptation. "Two" (The Twilight Zone), starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson. There is also a scene in How the West Was Won (film) in which a Union deserter (played by George Peppard) befriends his Confederate counterpart (Russ Tamblyn), only to have to kill him to stop him from shooting Generals Grant and Sherman. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:50, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

None But the Brave - American and Japanese soldiers stranded on an island during World War II. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:32, 23 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The Cuckoo (film) -- Staecker (talk) 11:16, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In Ice Cold in Alex, the crew of a British ambulance cut off in the desert pick-up a South African officer who turns out to be a German spy. However he helps them through all kinds of adversities to get to back to base, so they buy him a beer and hand him over as a POW rather than a spy. Alansplodge (talk) 21:33, 25 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Snoopy's Christmas" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:14, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hell in the Pacific (Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune) -- 220 of ^Borg 07:21, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

August 24

On region-locked Blu-ray movies and the Sony PlayStation 4.

Hello all,

I have been informed of the news that the PlayStation 4 will not be region-locked, meaning that games from a foreign region will work on your respective local console (i.e. me playing the U.K. edition of FIFA 14 on my North American PS4). My question is, since these games are on Blu-ray discs, will I be able to watch Blu-ray movies from other regions on my PS4? Thanks! Nicholasprado (talk) 07:05, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it - games only. Region-locking is very important to the movie industry and I can't see Sony making the PS4 completely regionless though before you know it there'll be ps4 homebrew and that problem will be fixed. ;) --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 19:44, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) I haven't seen any official line on this, but I see no reason to suppose anything will have changed in that regard from PS3. Games are region-free, but not movies. AJ Cham 19:46, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Magic school bus subtitles

Who knows where I can get the subtitles to Magic school bus cartoon for episode 2 season 4. Cracks a yolk. I want to make it for someone special who loves the cartoon. Please help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.215.119.10 (talk) 07:51, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

If you mean The Magic School Bus (TV series), then it's out on DVD. I'm sure that will contain the subtitles. Rojomoke (talk) 09:13, 24 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I would assume so as well, though the details at Amazon don't say so. The reviewers mentioned that there are audio tracks for English and Spanish, though, so it seems likely that there'd be a subtitle track. Matt Deres (talk) 02:00, 25 August 2013 (UTC) update: the details at Amazon for the episode in question also don't mention subtitles. Matt Deres (talk) 02:03, 25 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

August 26

Three card Monty

What do the scammers do to make sure the person never wins? Switch the winning card with another while moving around the cards so the winning card isn't there at all during the time of picking and then switch the winner back in when showing the loser "where" the winning card was, all by sleight of hand? 75.75.42.89 (talk) 02:13, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The winning card is always there, just not where the mark thinks it is. See Three-card_Monte#How_it_is_done. RudolfRed (talk) 04:05, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Generally, the winning card and one of the two losing cards are held in one hand, with the other losing card in the other. When the scammer throws the cards, he can make it seem like he's throwing the winning card while actually throwing the losing card. It's also common for one of the shills working with the scammer to bend the corner (or otherwise mark) the winning card while the scammer isn't looking: the scammer then uses sleight of hand to transfer the mark from the winning card to a losing card. If you're curious, John_Scarne has several books about gambling which describe Three-Card Monte. I also recommend "Gambling Scams," by Darwin_Ortiz, which is a fascinating discussion of cheating at all types of games of chance (you'll never go to a carnival again). OldTimeNESter (talk) 14:59, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

80s/90s artsy movie?

I'm remembering the last moments of an artsy movie (seen on Bravo, maybe?) from the 80s or 90s...I saw it sometime between 1994-97.

Sorry to be so vague, but one of the last scenes is of a rather ridiculous situation in which someone has turned an oil railcar into a submarine. They had been working on it for some time and the other characters didn't think it was going to work. The "submarine" dives and it's clear it's working. This is the memory prompting me to ask if anyone else remembers this scene & movie.

The mood I remember was quite artsy. --Shandon (talk) 04:32, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Looking for a Spiderman comic

Which issue has the story in it when Spiderman is upset because of something and would really like to vent his anger through some crime-fighting but on that night everybody is nice with him and he can't find a criminal. Finally, he decides to call up he's editor in the middle of the night, and he yells at him for waking him up. It ends with him sitting in a chair, smiling, listening to the phone. 79.134.238.136 (talk) 13:28, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Animal Crossing New Leaf (US version)

When you leave a villagers house in ACNL for the 3DS I have noticed a few different reactions. Some villagers will smile and wave, some bow, and others seem indifferent to you leaving. Is there any correlation between the way a villager acknowledges you leaving and your friend status with them? i.e. How close they are to giving you their picture? Or is it just random and related to their personality type? 63.95.64.254 (talk) 14:58, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Looking for a film (series)

I've seen it in the 90's. I think it might have been a little series with 4-5 episodes, but all relatively long. The plot was that a bunch of scientist opened a gateway to another universe, everything was yellow and slimy there. This malevolent world eventually spread into our universe and it infected people and at one point it was threatning to get into a river or some kind of a water supply system. At the end of the series, the laboratory got surrounded by a layer of that foreign stuff, and some of the characters even ventured into this another world. 79.134.238.136 (talk) 21:39, 26 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Invasion: Earth (TV series) Well crafted, but dark, with an inconclusive ending 2.5 out of 4 stars. μηδείς (talk) 17:45, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

August 27

Secrets - OneRepublic (sample at start)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCub4Vi-1KI

From 0:09 is a beat from some opera / classical singer. I went on who sampled and couldn't find what I am looking for.

I remember a early 00s song (2000 - 2003) that started with that same sample from 0:00 to 0:09 but then it went a bit different but still similar! It was a female singing. and it was a popular song, and it was american. 212.30.205.162 (talk) 19:10, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Do Martial Arts Really Work?

Dear all.

I think martial arts are great! My only problem is: I have never seen any actual evidence, that they work in reality. I have in fact never seen, read or even heard of any reliable information that proves their alleged efficiency. A good friend of mine, who used to practice karate for years, lost a fight against a dude who never trained anything (and who also was smaller). Most armies seem to ignore traditional martial arts completely and created their own hand-to-hand combat systems (LINE, Systema, Combat 56 and Krav Maga). My grandfather, who served in the army as a fight instructor (he teached bayonet fencing, knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat) has told me, that most martial arts are hoaxes. My question is: are most martial arts really that useless? And are there effective martial arts?--92.105.189.138 (talk) 20:05, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

(absolute OR with no training in anything). Martial arts as a whole are not a hoax, but other training is clearly legitimate and some people need no training at all to know how to fight and/or defend themselves. (More OR. It's not so much the practical use, but the discipline involved that people like.) --Onorem (talk) 20:10, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the response, Onorem. I used to go to a "open day" at the karate school of my friend, and I thought the way they worship their master was kinda scary. I really have no experiences whatsoever when it comes to martial arts, but this confused me.--92.105.189.138 (talk) 20:16, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Some marital arts work. :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:22, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Well, this is also OR, but I'd imagine it depends on the martial art in question (they're very different). I do some kung fu (very far from an expert), and in my school, there are two pieces: "forms", which is very formal and concentrates on learning and going through the different stances, actions, etc., and "sparring", which focuses more on real-life fighting. I would imagine that the sparring part of it, which involves actually sparring with other students, would be quite useful in a real-life fight; the forms might be a little helpful in real life, but not very much. (At least, not before one starts the forms that incorporate weapons.) For what it's worth. Writ Keeper (WK to move) ⚇♔ 20:26, 27 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Eastern martial arts seem to be a combination of exercise, hand-to-hand combat training, and indoctrination in Eastern Philosophy. That's quite clear in movies like Crouching Tiger, House of Flying Daggers, and Hero. μηδείς (talk) 04:13, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

mabuela?

I heard this Spanish song and the radio, and I don’t know what exactly was being said, but there were brief moments when a female (or more?) would say this word, which is probably inaccurate. Does anybody know what I’m talking about? This is really irritating me. --66.190.69.246 (talk) 03:49, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Very likely mi abuela--"my grandmother". μηδείς (talk) 04:08, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t know if vowels can contract like that in Spanish, and I can’t find a relevant song with that name. I can remember the words “como la luna,” “sus palabras” and “cada día” from the song, but that’s about it. --66.190.69.246 (talk) 04:13, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nevermind, found it. --66.190.69.246 (talk) 04:37, 28 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]