Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2006 September 29

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Photos of the Huang He (Yellow River)

Please,give me photos of the Huang He river in China I have 5 min. please.Thank you.72.148.117.237 00:19, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Our article on Huang_He_River has a map, a picture of something beside the river, and a picture of the river. Have you tried Googling for others? --Mnemeson 00:22, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Image:Lanzhou-rio-amarillo-d01.jpg is the only one I could find on English Wikipedia in that amount of time. The French Wikipedia shows [1] and [2], and here is a photo from Google. Picaroon9288 00:30, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

MIT

What kind of marks would you need to get in to MIT? I guess that also depends on how many people are admitted right? --The Dark Side 02:50, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Most American universities publish median grade point averages and standardized test scores. What they don't publish at the top level are the intangibles: MIT could fill its class each year with high school valedictorians, but they often select someone slightly lower in class rank (still in the top ten percent) who has something that 10,000 valedictorians don't have, such as a state championship in an engineering competition or part ownership of a patent on an invention or a publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Basically make sure there's no good reason to reject you (all or nearly all As in math and science, nothing much worse than a B elsewhere) and distinguish yourself from the crowd in some way. One of the most straightforward methods to do this is to volunteer as a lab assistant at your nearest university. Durova 07:01, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Dark Side, are you talking about undergrad or graduate school? Different processes for them... Bwithh 16:57, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

All you need to do to get in is win the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair! — X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve)17:28, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

The lower GPA students admitted to the Ivy League colleges are often "heritage" or "double heritage" admits, whose parent or parents attended the school, or athletes who are thought to be capable of helping the team have a winning season, or "development" admits, whose parents are very rich, and who have or who may be expected to donate millions of dollars. The admissions process is not merit based in all cases.Edison 20:31, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Nor is GPA the sole measure of merit! - Nunh-huh 23:58, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

"Development" admits don't happen at universities that practice need-blind admission. All eight Ivies and MIT admit on a need-blind basis. Durova 03:28, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

According to this recent article about a book on this subject in The Economist, the Ivies do admit students for reasons of gaining influence or development possibilities e.g. Princeton admitting Al Gore's son despite average academic performance, as well as President Bush's niece even though she missed the application deadline by a month. The article and book suggests a deliberate favouring of rich applicants at e.g. Harvard as well - quote:"When it comes to the children of particularly rich donors, the bending-over-backwards reaches astonishing levels. Harvard even has something called a “Z” list—a list of applicants who are given a place after a year's deferment to catch up—that is dominated by the children of rich alumni.". The article also mentions Brown giving Michael Ovitz's son a special student place and Harvard and Yale are used as examples of strong bias towards legacy applicants (40% of legacy applicants get into Harvard compared with an overall applicant average of 11%) - both Kerry and W. Bush got into Yale despite being medicore students. etc. etc. (And need-blind is about student needs, not university needs anyway). Bwithh 16:57, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Development admits and legacy admits are two different issues. The Ivies certainly do have legacy admits although in practice the amount of leniency granted depends on several factors. The doors tend to be more open toward two kinds of legacy admits: either the incredibly successful alumni whose names are really household names, or the bread-and-butter alumni who have been active in the alumni association for many years. The numbers quoted above are somewhat deceptive. The higher acceptance rate for alumni children is partially due to alumni preparing their children better than average parents. I don't mean merely in terms of sending their children to better schools or hiring tutors, but in terms of nearly two decades of dinner table conversations and museum visits. Think what the child of an MIT graduate would learn about science outside the classroom. Durova 04:34, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Argentina

Is the government in argentina honest in dealings with the citizens? ( they tell all info. there is no withholding)

My goodness: is there any government on this planet that is honest with its citizens? That of Argentina is probably no worse than most. White Guard 04:56, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

true enough, though due to the popular image and street image (of) there the citizens of argentina are far more sceptical than for let's say US-citizens (which imho aren't really sceptical). but what Ithink you might mean is the law system and its upholding. I'm sorry to disappoint you but I hold some knowledge about this subject (my dad had a study/bussenis trip there 2 weeks ago) and as it seems Argentina has like Chile one of the best lawsystems in the world. even if there is a high crimi-rate in both countries.Graendal 05:23, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Think of the poor people of Hungary. We all know that heads of government lie; but when you hear one admit it, now that really is something. White Guard 05:38, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, they admitted it, but knowing how governments are, that was probably a lie.  --Lambiam^Talk 17:16, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

A good philosophical point. It depends, I suppose, on the context of the admission. If George Bush said in public that he had always lied to the American people one would also have to weigh up the value of that statement. But if he was overheard saying it, as was Ferenc Gyurcsány, that would be something quite different. White Guard 02:01, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Musical qualification

Does anyone know what the letters FIGCM might mean? They were written after the name of a music teacher in England in 1906. Thanks - G N Frykman 06:49, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Couldn't find anything on Google or in the OED, so I would guess it's defunct. FI usually means Fellow of the Institute of. Maybe CM is choir masters?--Shantavira 07:21, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Fellow I__ G___ College of Music? alteripse 07:25, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

FAGCM means Fellow of the Australian Guild of Church Musicians. FGCM means Fellow or Fellowship of the Guild of Church Music in general. I don't know what the 'I' stands for. At first I thought it might represent a particular diocese, but none of the Church of England's dioceses starts with the letter 'I'. 'International' just doesn't sound right for a church music title in 1906. Irish? ---Sluzzelin 08:03, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

According to this: Fellow of the Incorporated Guild of Church Musicians --HJMG 08:06, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

HJMG - that is incredibly helpful! It is also incredibly likely for this particular schoolmaster. Many thanks - G N Frykman 18:05, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

canadians in vietnam war

I understand some canadians volentiered to join the american military to fight in vietnam. They were allowed to retain their decorations and badages from canada on their US military uniforms. What ever became of them? Thanks

According to this page [3], 4,000 Canadians served in Vietnam, and about 150 died or are MIA - there is a Memorial Wall in Windsor and Canadian Vietnam Veterans organizations. At least 2,000 of these had dual citizenship or became U.S. citizens - they probably returned to the U.S. Other went home to Canada. (See also Canada and the Vietnam War). Peter C. Lemon was the only Canadian recipient of the U.S.'s Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War. Rmhermen 18:50, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Does Wikipedia have an article about a mercurial sword?

I wanted to know if Wikipedia has any information about a mercurial sword, a sword with a hollow blade that has a basin of mercury at its hilt. When swung, the mercury would flow to the tip of the sword, increasing its impact.--Rouge Rosado Oui? 11:01, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

apparently not. note that this is a concept of Final Fantasy or other fantasy RPGs and should at best figure in Category:Fictional swords. dab (ᛏ) 11:19, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Doesn't sound a very practical idea. Why not just increase the mass of the tip as required? Or perhaps it could double as a thermometer? ("What? Still 98.6?")--Shantavira 11:26, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

This concept has already been put into practice in the real world. Hollow aluminium baseball bat, part filled with water. Replace the water with mercury and you'd have one *fearsome* club... --Kurt Shaped Box 11:48, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

We don't have an article yet, but a few of our Warhammer 40K articles briefly cover the subject. Since the concept is quite popular, we should have an article on it, but I don't think "mercurial sword" would be the best name for it. ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 11:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I presume having a heavier tip would make it harder to handle, whereas this way the extra mass is in the handle, where it is more manageable, due to the way moments work, and then the extra mass is only transferred to the tip during the swing. --62.6.139.11 14:35, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

as a regular sword/weaponwielder/master I have to say: Actually a sword with a heavier tip is not harder to handle pur sang. It is only what you are accustomed to. "Mercurial swords" are frankly near impossible to handle though since it's balance keeps on shifting and therefore the basic swinging techniques take much strength and force whereas normally you only guide the sword and even then mainly with your thoughts. therefore I think that the only "Mercurial" weapon there could be possible is a Mace or a morning star or flail(though this one ould most likely be quite useless). And for those weapons adding Mercurial tips on the spikes would be less useless as using poison and acid tips hardened in firewith double chambers that open on impact and then close again. perhaps on swordspear It might be of some use as an added forceswing but then half of it's effectiveness of speed would just fall because you need time to adjust for every new balance (by Graendal on public comp)82.92.184.210 07:09, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Was Che Guevara a licensed medical doctor?

The WIKI biography does not say definitively whether or not Che Guevara ever graduated and had a degree. Was he a licensed medical doctor. This is a big bone of contention depending on where some people stand, politically. Most Cubans hate Guevera the way they hate Castro and scoff at the notion that he was ever a real doctor. This is because Guevera was a guerilla fighter in the jungle and killed many people. I say, ok, yes that's true, but wasn't he also a medical doctor? I emailed the University of Buenos Aires and got no reponse. This is something I have already researched quite a bit and still have no difinitive answer...can someone help?

Here's what the WIKI page says:

Some critics also believe that Che failed medical school in Argentina and that there is no evidence he actually ever earned a medical degree. [3] ,[4], [5], [6], [7],[8],

A glance at the current Che Guevara talk page shows that this is a topic of discussion. There are seven more talk pages in the archives linked from that page. Perhaps you will find more discussion, debate, and reasoning for the current wording.(I didn't check.)---Sluzzelin 17:48, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't see the relevance of Cuban's hate of Guevara, but since you bring it up yourself. Even those who hate Castro generally love El Che. The reason being that they love the fact that they got rid of Batista, but not necessarily what they did afterwards. Che was dead before he could do anything to tarnish his name. (Which is of course not to say that he would have - that's something we can never know.) DirkvdM 11:29, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

What kind of people thank that just because they disagree with someone's politics that person couldn't have earned a medical degree? Are these same people big fans of Josef Mengele, whose medical degree is well-documented? DJ Clayworth 16:39, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

According to Ernesto Che Guevara: Mito Y Realidad , by Enrique Ros (ISBN: 0897299884), he failed as Argentine medical student. Though he's widely described as a medical doctor by his hagiographers (Castaneda, Anderson, Taibo, Kalfon) no record exists of Guevara's medical degree. When Cuban-American researcher Enrique Ros inquired of the Rector of the University of Buenos Aires and the head of its Office of Academic Affairs for copies or proof of said document, Ros was variously told that the records had been misplaced or perhaps stolen. According to The Che Guevara Timeline by J.A. Sierra, Guevara completed his medical degree in March 1953. According to Britannica Concise he completed medical studies in 1953. According to Encarta Guevara received a medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1953. The evidence would indicate that Che Guevara did graduate, but the records of his graduation are now lost. --Dave 08:30, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Although I think it should be noted, at the time a medical degree did not necessarily mean doctor; a student who did not complete the entire education could graduate with a degree as a medic and practice medicine at a different level. Several sources indicate that he received a medic's education, but then mistakenly call him a doctor. Gtadoc 16:10, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Finding a Poem

Could anybody help me find a poem I read a long time ago with the word \'Oriel\' in it? That\'s all I have to go by, sadly.

Here's one: Nuremberg by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

"On the square the oriel window, where in old heroic days

Sat the poet Melchior singing Kaiser Maximilian's praise." ---Sluzzelin 14:48, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

That's not very much to go on. Try Googling poetry sites for "oriel" along with the names of Romantic poets such as Scott (eg. The moon on the east oriel shone), Tennyson (eg. Thro’ the topmost Oriels’ colour’d flame), Longfellow (Lo! in the painted Oriel of the West) etc.--Shantavira 14:58, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

....try http://www.bartleby.com/

Home owners assn. vs Property owners assn.

What are some of the legal differences between HOA (home owners association) and POA (property owners association); specifically the rights and responsibilities of the members and the board?

Assuming the property in question consists of a home or homes, aren't these just synonyms? I'd think there is no generic difference; everything depends on the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of each specific association.  --Lambiam^Talk 17:27, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I imagine it's very much a state by state thing in the US. California is governed by Civil Code 1350-1378, for example[4]. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 21:11, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

What's English for German de:Notname

Notnamen are invented, conventional names for artists whose real names are unknown. See Master of the furies, Master E. S., Antiphon Painter.

While doing some interwiki linking, I've noticed that there's no equivalent here to de:Kategorie:Notname and de:Liste der Notnamen. I want to start these but wasn't even able to find the correct translation to use.

Pjacobi 17:51, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Provisional name? It's perhaps closer to 'Behelfsname' which is also used for this type of name. ---Sluzzelin 18:21, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

This discussion paper uses the descriptive phrase "descriptive phrase which functions as a name". In fact, the term "descriptive name" is in active use for this purpose: see [5] (said to be derived from the Grove Dictionary of Art), and [6].

The term "provisional name" is also being used: [7], [8], [9], [10], [11].

This English-language page on a German museum's website uses "makeshift name" as translation of Notname (here is the corresponding page in German).

On this page you find the term "invented name" (in the last line of the first page, referring to Master of the Embroidered Foliage). Another example of the use of this invented name: [12].

Conclusion. While not exactly common, "provisional name" is the provisional winner.  --Lambiam^Talk 20:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

This question belongs on the Language Desk. StuRat 20:47, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for all the references so far. I've put the question here and not at language, as I'm looking for the most common term actually used in art history, which may or may not coincede with the best translation. --Pjacobi 22:49, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

The nearest English equivalent would simply be 'unknown' for painters. I cannot think of any other usage. White Guard 01:19, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Unknown was a quite prolific painter. Maybe we should call him "Master of the Unknown".  --Lambiam^Talk 14:23, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Mallard Fillmore - comic strip

Local paper, Denver Post, has discontinued runnig Mallard Fillmore comic strip. How can I view it daily on the internet??? Thanx. Jim Jensen, Arvada, CO. e-mail address removed

Try this link and click on the archives.---Sluzzelin 20:37, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/mallard/about.htm displays the first week of the previous month, if that is enough of a fix. Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/comics/?nav=left has lots of other comics daily. Edison 20:38, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

If your local newspaper decided that your favorite strip will duck out of the comics, and if you're not chicken, you should cry fowl, raise a flap, and grouse to them (don't just parrot those other turkeys who settle for flipping them the bird). :-) StuRat 13:23, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

20 points to Stu! I could parrot a load more bird jokes, but then I'd just sound like a tit! Laïka 23:02, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Henry Walpole

I am doing some family history and found out that i am related to Henry Walpole, in the document entitled "Henry Walpole" it quotes "He was born at Docking, Norfolk, in 1558, the eldest son of Christopher Walpole" and in the document above Christopher Walpole has been taken out of your wikipedia please can you update this document so I can research Christopher Walpole and also if you can help me in anyway in finding the rest of he sons/daughters I would be grateful. Thank you

Helen85 21:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

A Google search doesn't turn up any mentions of your ancestor Christopher Walpole, apart from passing mentions related to Henry Walpole. He is apparently not a famous person, even if he is somehow related Prime Minister Robert Walpole and Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, along with the above-mentioned Henry. Church records (such as those that might be found on the grounds of this church) in the Docking, Norfolk area are possible the best bet to finding out more; genealogy websites might also be useful. Picaroon9288 22:07, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

The DNB article on Henry says that Christopher (d. 1596) had a brother John, of Herpley, a sergeant-at-law. CW lived at Docking Hall from about 1558 and later owned an estate at Anmer and Dersingham, adjoining relatives' estates at Houghton (cousin) and Herpley/Harpley (nephew). Henry had a brother also called Christopher - see here. There may be more info in a 19th century book by Augustus Jessopp: One generation of a Norfolk house: a contribution to Elizabethan History about the Walpole family. By the way, I don't think there was ever a Wikipedia article on CW which was deleted. (Red links are sometimes there to suggest a possible future article.) --HJMG 22:34, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Christopher Walpole was lmost certainly not 'taken out of Wikipedia' - he was never there, but the person who linked to him in Henry Walpole thought he ought to be. His article will get created when somebody thinks it worth writing, and is prepared to do whatever research that requires. If you find out anything about him, Helen85, maybe you'd like to write it! ColinFine 21:32, 1 October 2006 (UTC)