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March 11

Romulans mind-melding

In the Star Trek franchise and its products, how often are Romulans shown as being able to mindmeld in the same way that Vulcans are? Examples please. Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 03:28, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

According to this page at Memory Alpha, they aren't. --69.159.8.46 (talk) 04:18, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

Memory Alpha isn't clear. It states that "This suggests that, although Romulans may not possess psionic abilities, Remans do" - so it is admittedly going beyond what is clearly depicted in the film referred to. "Nepenthe", a recent episode of Star Trek: Picard, apparently does show Romulans as being able to mind-meld (I'm going from the Wikipedia description of it, as I haven't seen the episode). I'm wondering whether there is any precedent for this. Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 23:28, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

You may want to re-read it; Commodore Oh is Vulcan, not Romulan (ref). Matt Deres (talk) 13:15, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

I think that 'appears to be Vulcan' is probably a better description in terms of the current story arc. She works for the Romulan secret service and at least one other similar character has been shown to have been surgically altered for infiltration purposes. It is still possible that she's a disguised Reman _{(though it's all just fiction of course)}. Blakk and ekka 14:45, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

The Memory Alpha page has been updated to reflect events in the most recent episode (spoilers). Matt Deres (talk) 02:15, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

The Wikipedia description of Commodore Oh ("seemingly a Vulcan Starfleet officer and head of Starfleet Security, but secretly an operative of the Tal Shiar") seemed to imply that she is actually a Romulan without stating this in so many words. The Memory Alpha site linked to above establishes her as a Romulan/Vulcan hybrid rather than a normal Vulcan. I suppose her being able to mind-meld doesn't establish anything about whether regular Romans are able to mind-meld. Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 07:22, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

I can definitely state that the Romans, regular or irregular, were never able to mind meld. "Friends, Romulans, countrymen, lend me your pointy ears?" Clarityfiend (talk) 08:26, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Only one named future Pixar movie...

I *think* when Toy Story 4 came out there was a gap of about a week or so when Onward was the only named future Pixar movie before they announced Soul. Since we are about at that point now with "Soul" being the only named future movie, I'd like to find out whether I'm remember correctly that it was a week.Naraht (talk) 20:09, 11 March 2020 (UTC)

March 12

Why is Abraham Lincoln not mentioned in Tom Hanks' Wikipedia entry?

Hello Wikipedia Entertainment Desk:

I am among the billions of humans who adore actor Tom Hanks. In the Wikipedia entry about Abraham Lincoln's CLOSE relative Nancy Hanks, the page states:

Notable relatives Nancy Hanks is a third cousin four times removed of actor, producer, writer, and director Tom Hanks.[51]

Why is this not mentioned on the Tom Hanks Wikipedia page? I think most of his fans would absolutely love to know he is related to Abraham Lincoln!

tHanks, A Librarian in Florida descended from John Brown 104.0.216.101 (talk) 21:02, 12 March 2020 (UTC)

I don't know what are the relations between Abraham Lincoln, Nancy Hanks and Tom Hanks, but if person A is related to person B and person B is related to person C, that doesn't always mean that person A is related to person C. For example if you and your first cousin share two grandparents, you're related to your cousin and your cousin is related to his other two grandparents, but you're not related to your cousin's other two grandparents (parents of your non-related aunt or uncle). 93.136.43.47 (talk) 03:32, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Well, Nancy Hanks redirects to Nancy Lincoln and says she was Abraham's mother. If she's Tom Hanks's third cousin four times removed, that would make Abraham Lincoln Tom's fourth cousin three times removed. When you start talking about relationships that distant they aren't all that notable, it seems to me, but I don't see why it shouldn't be mentioned on Tom's page—if there's a reliable source to cite for it, of course. --69.159.8.46 (talk) 05:23, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Assuming the source on the Nancy Hanks page is valid, there's no reason it couldn't also be used on the Tom Hanks page also. The IP's can't add it currently, because the page is semi'd. As to what 93 said above, it's true, but doesn't really apply in this case. If Tom Hanks is related to Nancy Hanks, then they have at least one common ancestor. And that means that any of Nancy's descendants and any of Tom's descendants are likewise related. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:03, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

93 here, yeah if Nancy Hanks is Abraham Lincoln's direct ancestor (mother) then he's related to everyone she's related. That means Tom Hanks too. If he weren't her direct descendant, then he would be only in-laws with some of her blood relatives. 89.172.82.113 (talk) 20:23, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

Tom Hanks is not a descendant of Nancy Hanks. Rather, Tom and Nancy [theoretically] have at least one common ancestor. However, check out Nancy Hanks Lincoln heritage. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:26, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

It appears the common ancestors are John Hanks I (1681-1740) and Catherine (Williams) Hanks (1695-1780). ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:23, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

If. But even then, see WP:PROPORTION. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:42, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm sorry, but in what world is "third cousin four times removed" a close relative (CLOSE relative even!)? That is both incredibly remote and incredibly trivial. Try doing the maths and see for how many people that would also be true.... Fgf10 (talk) 09:05, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

A quick google search does render source for: 4th cousin 4 times removed with interviews (quotes) by Hanks himself. The relation coverage is notable as a side note. Where it should fall within the BLP article is another question, as it is trivial. There are many celebrities who boast a relationship connection to famous historical figures x number times removed. Maineartists (talk) 09:36, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Nancy was Abe's mother, so that makes them close relatives to each other. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:38, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Indeed, I misread what the close relative referred to, my mistake. CLose relative to Lincoln, very distant relative to Tom Hanks. Fgf10 (talk) 13:22, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Just curious. Is this coming up because the media attempted to make a big deal about Tom Hanks being very very distantly related to Fred Rogers? 135.84.167.41 (talk) 16:50, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

"Very distant" is a matter of opinion. Tom Hanks and Fred Rogers are sixth cousins. For comparison, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt were fifth cousins. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:19, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

The only reason the Fred Roger's connection was even mentioned in the article is because of Hank's portrayal of him in the biopic. If he hadn't played Fred, it would have never been included let alone brought up in the mainstream media. Until the man plays Honest Abe in a film ... leave it out. Maineartists (talk) 01:22, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

As I recall, the Lincoln connection was discussed with Tom Hanks on a Finding Your Roots episode several years ago. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:56, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

So? what's the point for inclusion, then. If every celebrity who went on Finding Your Roots warranted an inclusion of "distant relatives", WP would be inundated with trivial facts of endless family tree limbs dating back to Adam and Eve. Even Judge Judy put this craziness into perspective on a recent show: "He's your Uncle's cousin's son ... so that makes him: nothing to you." Maineartists (talk) 17:23, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

So? Since when is Judge Judy an expert on genealogy? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:25, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Exactly my point. Thank you for proving it. Maineartists (talk) 02:26, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Finding Your Roots doesn't particularly bring up previously-unknown family relations to famous people. But to show how seriously some folks take these facts, Ben Affleck's team was said to have been upset by the revelation that one of his ancestors was a slaveowner, as if Ben had anything to do with that fact. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:15, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

March 14

Name of a science fiction novel

The plot involves Earth people accepting an invitation to visit another star system in a loaned, non-FTL starship (loaned because humanity is incapable of interstellar travel). One of the protagonists is a super smart dwarf(?) nicknamed Junior(?) and the leader of the expedition is "Whitey"(?) and has an unusual last name. The aliens are friendly, and on the way back to Earth, Whitey deduces they possess an FTL drive. There was also a prequel. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:47, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Never mind. I figured it out: A Lion on Tharthee by Grant Callin. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:53, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

March 15

Lewis capaldi certifications

Hi I'm sorry for bothering you but I just don't know how to to update it myself and I'm afraid I will mess it up. Lewis music certifications from a few countries are missing. His nvpi ones and his swiss ifpi ones are missing. The nvpi ones are confirmed on there site. I don't know what swiss site you look on though. But on the universal music switzerland Instagram page there is a post of Lewis with his platinum album award and a post with him receiving an award live on stage for his song someone you loved for sales of over 200,000. Universal music switzerland also confirmed to be a few of his songs have went gold and platinum. I would update it myself but I really don't know what I'm doing and as I said I'm afraid I will mess the whole page up. Thanks. 81.97.240.214 (talk) 21:15, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

You mean the article Lewis Capaldi discography, right? I didn't find anything at ifpi.ch, but German Wikipedia's article on de:Lewis Capaldi gives this Musikwoche article from 14 August 2019 (by Jonas Kiß) as a reference for Capaldi having received a gold disc for the debut album Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, triple platinum for the single "Someone You Loved", platinum for "Bruises", and gold for the singles "Grace" and "Lost On You". He received these precious metals from Universal Music Switzerland at the Heitere Open Air on August 9, 2019. ---Sluzzelin talk 02:51, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes thank you. I'm not sure why the ifpi.ch haven't confirmed any but I have contacted them but haven't heard back from them yet. When I contacted the nvpi they explained everything to me and put his certifications on there site though. Thanks for the reply 81.97.240.214 (talk) 14:12, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

March 17

What TV movie did I see?

It would be easy if I hadn't reviewed nearly 1000 movies for imdb. I know they took a long time to approve my review, which may have been because they suspected I had posted spoilers, and maybe I should have gone ahead and said it included spoilers. I felt it was necessary to talk about the movie's significance. It was similar to what we're going through now with 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic except most people who got the flu were seriously ill and many died and eventually it became impossible for normal business to take place, such as just getting people food and other basics. It may be that's what has happened in Italy, but this was the United States. I don't recall whether the entire world was affected but it likely was.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 15:33, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

The first one that springs to mind is The Last Man on Earth (1964 film) though I'm sure it is too old to be the one you are thinking of. The other adaptations of I Am Legend (novel) - The Omega Man and I Am Legend (film) - don't really fit your description. The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959 film) doesn't involve a flu. The Quiet Earth (film) also misses the mark but I mention it because it is a favorite and I hope others get a chance to see it. I hope other editors are able to track it down for you. MarnetteD|Talk 15:58, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Sheesh I missed the TV in your header V-my apologies - facepalm. MarnetteD|Talk 18:26, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

This was fairly recent. It aired for the first time after I joined imdb in 2001. I'll take a look at my reviews when i get time.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:02, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Is Category:Films about viral outbreaks any use? Although if it was just a TV movie it probably hasn't got its own article. --Viennese Waltz 16:33, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

More than likely it won't be. I just found out I won't get to check this afternoon. Other priorities. The real outbreak may be a factor.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 17:51, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Outbreak (1995)? I think I saw that on TV some years back. 2601:648:8202:96B0:386A:A40C:EBB1:ACC0 (talk) 05:40, 18 March 2020 (UTC)