Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 March 7

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March 7

Making light protest placards

I want to make signs which parody those of the Westboro Baptist Church. We'll print on A3 sheets of paper and stick four together to get A1. The question is what we stick them to which must be strong and stiff but also light enough to be carried for the duration of a parade. Also what can we use to stick the sheets to the boards? ----Seans Potato Business 01:51, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

1)Foamcore. 2)Spray glue or 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. Edison (talk) 02:15, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Call your local Green Party office and ask what they use for election signs. It should be a light and recyclable material. Please do recycle - you're trying to improve the world, right? Franamax (talk) 03:37, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

How about two poster boards stapled to, and on either side of, a balsa wood support ? Beware that high winds make carrying such signs dangerous, no matter how sturdy they are, as they can pull you into the street or get away from you and slam into someone. Also, be careful about the parody, as signs like "God hates fags" are likely to inspire violence, and parody is often lost on the intended audience. StuRat (talk) 15:32, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated plastic are possibilities. Either should be available from art suppliers. The latter can also get wet, in case they sprinkle your group of diabolical sinners with Holy Water. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 17:07, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Content

The construction of the signs is boring compared to the content you intend to put on them. I don't suppose you'd care to indulge my curiosity? What *should* such signs say? – 74  02:36, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Might I suggest "God hates people who use His name to spread Hate" ? StuRat (talk) 20:05, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

I've seen "God hates shellfish". 79.66.56.21 (talk) 20:58, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

FYI, it's uninspired stuff like 'God loves fags' and 'It's ok to be gay' but also 'Zeus loves Ganymedes' which is pretty neat 'cause Ganymedes is the name of our (LGBT) student association. In any case, thanks for the information guys; a note has been made in my planning file that a trip to an arts store is going to be necessary. We'll go with corrugated plastic and spray-glue and keep the size down to A2. ----Seans Potato Business 22:57, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

FYI, in my part of the world those ubiquitous corrugated plastic signs advertising the opportunity to become an envelope-stuffing thousandaire are illegal, so art-supply-needing citizens can in good conscience liberate them for their own projects. --Sean 01:48, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Carefully chosen scripture verses, such as David's "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (2 Samuel 1:26), would be good. Depending on your approach, you might also want "What doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8), or "the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7, Deuteronomy 5:11). Parodies are less effective than direct criticism, but 'God hates figs' (referencing Jesus' cursing of a fig tree in Matthew 21:19, mark 11:13-21 ) is quite a good one. Personally I'd go for the jugular with "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1 John 4:20).

If you prefer secular slogans, anything which encourages these bigots to go away and mind their own business would be good; be careful not to include anything which could be construed as hate speech, though. AlexTiefling (talk) 16:47, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Cruzcampo logo

Is the figure on the Cruzcampo bottle a male or female?.. All my mates are under the impression it's a male due to the lack of breast and the pot belly but I'm whole heartedly for it being a female... Hereś a link to the picture [1]... Cheers 81.35.160.200 (talk) 08:49, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

I'm with your friends. I don't think we have an article that will help you. But you might want to check out our article on beer goggles. --JGGardiner (talk) 09:54, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

I think know he is a chap and his name is Gambrinus. Richard Avery (talk) 10:23, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, that's a guy, dude. I mean, that's male clothing, too. (Of course, this could be a transvestite. Or a transgendered person! But that may be going slightly beyond the scope of the question...) -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:29, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

But the face and hands are way to effeminate to be a guy... Let alone a guy advertising beer... This [2] is an older version of the logo I just dug up and I'm still convinced it's just a fat women... Probably German judging by the clothes 81.35.160.200 (talk) 14:02, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

That link doesn't load for me. The original figure certainly looks male to me. Perhaps the haircut, which looks roughly like a pageboy, is what's throwing you off. That hairstyle has been in fashion for men at various times in history, most recently popular in the 1950s and 60s. Also, some advertisers feel it is better to portray a "typical customer" than an "idealized customer", as the latter can be a turn-off for those which fall short of the ideal (which is pretty much everyone). Also note that being fat once was the ideal, say a century ago. Thus, they may just have kept an old logo. StuRat (talk) 15:17, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

It loads for me, but the hand is certainly not what I'd call effeminate, neither is the thickness of his holding arm. He's holding a glass with a handle, which may be a little too small for his manly hand, so he has to hold it any way he can. -- JackofOz (talk) 20:32, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

She's female. Have a look at the placquet (opening) of her shirt and see how it is constructed so the left side (as worn) wraps UNDER the right side. And that is universal and has been since men wore swords at their left hip and used their left hand to unfasten their coats while reaching for their sword with their right hand. Women didn't have to do that so they decided to arrange their clothing differently from men. 92.20.17.211 (talk) 00:06, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

This is inconclusive as the original / older version [3] does not have this detail of the collar. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 00:25, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Plus, that's just some lovely urban-legend reasoning, a just-so story. The gendering of which-side-has-the-buttons is a 19th century thing, if I recall. 79.66.56.21 (talk) 15:53, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

From where I sit, neither side appears to go under the other. —Tamfang (talk) 04:34, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Looks like a man to me. I know what you mean about the face looking feminine, but I think that's just because of the shading and hair style. --Tango (talk) 01:18, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Ownership of 9-1-1 calls

The "Octomom" recently called 9-1-1 because she temporarily lost one of her children, and the dialog and recording of the call were released here by CNN. In addition to this instance, I've witnessed several instances (at least on TV) where emergency phone calls are made public. My question is: are 9-1-1 (or emergency U.S. phone communication) calls public and how do the media (or anyone) get a hold of them? --99.156.92.12 (talk) 18:30, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

This is generally a state-specific question; many have written laws making some or all of 9-1-1 calls public record, which makes them available for open records requests. Some states have revised or are revisiting this issue in light of increased media interest. – 74  22:17, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for investigating! --99.156.92.12 (talk) 01:54, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

If I had 6 children, and one went missing, what could possibly be wrong with saying repeatedly, in front of the surviving 5, "OH GOD, OH GOD, I'M GONNA KILL MYSELF" and then giving birth to another litter of eight? Edison (talk) 05:28, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Having fertility treatments to have additional children when you already have 6 is bizarre behavior to begin with. Don't fertility treatment centers have any standards to eliminate candidates who apparently are just going for a world record ? StuRat (talk) 20:00, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Yes, they do, which is why the doctor who performed the treatment is currently being investigated. --Tango (talk) 23:45, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

I agree that 911 calls are often inappropriately used for "entertainment" by the media. I suppose they think hearing someone's calls to 911 upon finding their family murdered is a good ratings grabber. There certainly should be laws against this. Perhaps they could allow a transcript, but not the actual recordings, anywhere outside of court. StuRat (talk) 20:00, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Some states do exactly that. However, the media is hardly above producing a "dramatic reenactment" which can actually be *worse* than the original. – 74  00:48, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Muffin (movie)

Hello,

A few years ago I saw a movie called "Muffin" at about 4am. I've tried to find it on the internet to show my housemates but can't find it. Is there anywhere I can find it on the internet (it's not on YouTube), or at least some info on it?

The plot is that a muffin gets taken around by various charectors in the movie, and it's only about an 1.30 long at most. 144.32.126.15 (talk) 18:33, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like this 2002 movie. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:19, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

I was going to go with [4] ...nevermind. :-) SteveBaker (talk) 20:38, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

1.30 of what units?? —Tamfang (talk) 19:29, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah thanks!!! 144.32.126.12 (talk) 18:26, 10 March 2009 (UTC)