December 27

chef geoffrey zakarian, what is the name of his first wife? In 2005, when he marries his present wife, Margaret, the NYT stated that he had been divorced but I can find nothing identifying the name of his first wife. I'm also interested in particulars, such as the length of the marriage, cause of break up, presence of children, etc. 207.255.135.216 (talk) 05:50, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

An article from 2001 mentions that she is a psychotherapist, but I struck out on the name.

Howdy! 07:52, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply

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I'm not well enough up on Tolkien to know when his writing included giant spiders (mid-50s publication of LotR?), but in film they date back at least to the mid-1950s in the film Tarantula, and they were big ones: a "crawling terror 100ft high" as the film poster stated. And then there's this one from 1958. --Michig (talk) 20:22, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This may be the earliest film example. --Michig (talk) 20:25, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Another mid-1950's sf-nal example: Much of Matheson's The Shrinking Man deals with the hero's battling a (to him) giant spider. I'm not recalling earlier instances at the moment, but giant spiders definitely predate, and are independent of, Tolkien's widespread popularity. I vaguely recall something of the sort in Lord Dunsany, but I'm away from my books just now. Deor (talk) 20:31, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflicted) That helps a bit, at least to disprove that Tolkien established/re-popularized the concept if B-movies were doing it at around the same time. Thanks. Anyone have any more info on giant spiders from older sources, such as mythology or classic/ancient literature? The only other thing I've specifically seen as a "giant" spider (other than the possible reference in Lord Dunsany's works referenced above that I will look into) is the Japanese Tsuchigumo, and I'm more interested in Western depictions. 207.118.80.250 (talk) 20:39, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

EDIT: Looking into info on Lord Dunsany's writings led me to this Google Books entry from one Encyclopedia of Fantasy, which does indeed reference the works of Lord Dunsany, as well as some other depictions of giant spiders. I think this source, along with looking into some of the works it mentions, will give me enough of an idea of the concept to sate my curiosity on it. 207.118.80.250 (talk) 20:49, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure you need a particular thread of common descent to figure out how giant spiders became a trope. The answer lies at arachnophobia, which is an extremely common phobia among both men and women. If you want to make your monster scary, it helps to play with inborn preconceptions. Dragons play into the common fear of snakes and other reptiles; giant spiders (and swarms of small spiders) play into fear of spiders, bugs, and other creepy-crawlies. Matt Deres (talk) 21:34, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

For one earlier depiction, see also Gustave Doré's 1860s illustration of Arachne (illustrating Dante's Purgatorio, Canto XII, "O fond Arachne! thee I also saw / Half spider now, in anguish, crawling up / The unfinish'd web thou weaved'st to thy bane." ---Sluzzelin talk 02:32, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Another pre-Tolkien example is "Little Miss Muffet". The spider is often illustrated normal-sized, but see for example this 1910s illustration by Arthur Rackham. ---Sluzzelin talk 04:40, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I have a vague recollection that one of Baba Yaga's guises was a giant spider. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:41, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Partial list of movie spiders [1] - including "The Lost World" although I don't recall if spiders are in the original 1912 book. Tolkien had giant spiders in 1937 in The Hobbit. The 1933 King Kong spider apparently was cut from the film. Rmhermen (talk) 16:31, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I am trying to find a complete copy of the play "Da," written by Hugh Leonard in 1978 and performed on Broadway for more than a year 1978-79. There is a Wikipedia entry with references to everything but where or how to find a copy of it. Thanks 64.69.124.170 (talk) 21:52, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2512/da 216.93.234.239 (talk) 00:43, 29 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

are there any tv clips of andys gang tv show in 1955 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.108.54.200 (talk) 23:18, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There are clips on YouTube. There are also DVDs for sale on Amazon. 216.93.234.239 (talk) 00:45, 29 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

On Postal (film), I see plenty of children die in a shooting scene, and in an overhead view of a reporter surrounded by their bodies, I counted about 63 bodies.

However, what are all the other films and TV episodes you know that show children dying on camera? If you have YouTube clips, may you link them? If not, may you link the articles of the films / episodes in question?

And finally, may I create a category that'll list all films & TV episodes that show dead / dying children in them?

Thanks. --75.39.131.9 (talk) 23:47, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'd expect countless medical/police dramas to have that theme. StuRat (talk) 23:50, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The answer is that there are likely thousands of films and TV episodes which show dying or deceased children. It's a grouping which is far too huge and far too esoteric of a concept for anyone to have taken a study counting them exhaustively. To answer the final question, that'd be an unequivocal no. Wikipedia categories are not meant for this type of trivial, esoteric categorization. See Wikipedia:Overcategorization which contains at least half a dozen reasons why creating such a category would be a bad idea. --Jayron32 23:54, 27 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, if they're countless, can you post youtube clips that stand out in your memory the most? Cite any film / episode that you remember best? Thanks. --75.39.131.9 (talk) 00:00, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Well, you can find it yourself, but The Little Match Girl is a real Xmas downer. StuRat (talk) 00:03, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

MacCauley Culken's character dies in

Law and Order: SVU. --Jayron32 00:09, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply

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