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May 2

Footy tipping

I live in the Australian rules football part of Australia. (See Barassi line for an explanation of the divide, and what that part is.) A constant element of the culture here for all my longish life has been several TV and radio programs or segments of programs, typically broadcast on Thursdays, where presenters, often famous past players, discuss (or tip) who they believe will win games over the upcoming weekend.

I am interested in whether there are parallels to this phenomenon in other parts of the world. I don't even know if it happens much for Rugby league, the major football code in the rest of Australia, where Australian football isn't the dominant code. HiLo48 (talk) 02:15, 2 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The question is not where in the world they do that, but rather where they don't. My guess: maybe North Korea? Possibly Iran? Sports commentators, some of them former players, make predictions all the time as to who will win. Clarityfiend (talk) 06:25, 2 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

In formally structured and scheduled programs or segments of programs? HiLo48 (talk) 06:51, 2 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

In North America, segments of TV shows, but there are lots and lots of YouTube sports betting videos. Clarityfiend (talk) 08:28, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The phenomenon I'm talking about long predates sport betting in its modern form. HiLo48 (talk) 10:37, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It's not quite the same, but the BBC Sport website has a long-running feature where a former player (now Chris Sutton, formerly Mark Lawrenson) predicts the weekends Premier League football fixtures, competing against some celebrity or other with something to promote. Nowadays, they also crowd-source a readers' prediction, and also ask some AI tool. They then tot-up a score for each week and the season as a whole. I'm not sure they've ever televised it, but perhaps it made it onto Football Focus or something. ~2026-28027-18 (talk) 11:16, 9 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 4

Animal Farm (2026)

I was just wondering... What does the G 11+ on the Animal Farm poster mean? Most likely an age rating. ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 11:54, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The G is an age rating, see Motion Picture Association film rating system#MPA film ratings. Not sure what the 11+ is doing there, as G means all ages. --Viennese Waltz 12:11, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Similar to the current categorye

"Rated PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13"

might it indicate that, though there is no age restriction, it is considered more suitable for those aged 11 and older (who are not unlikely to have the book form part of their English literature curriculum anyway, as it did in mine 50+ years ago)?

Perhaps the Rating system has recently been updated/refined? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-76101-8 (talk) 13:21, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It's not the MPAA rating. The MPAA rated it PG. ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 15:24, 4 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It is fairly weird. Most references to G 11+ seem to come back to Animal Farm. Even assuming these are separate ratings and Animal Farm was rated G before it was upgraded after the poster was made, the G symbol is wrong for the MPAA rating and this looks like it's probably a US poster. It's also wrong for most English native countries systems too and most of them seem to have it at PG. There are some discussions where people say it's rated G but I can't find any indication it was ever actually G probably just people confused by the poster. I couldn't find a system that has an 11+ rating either. (Sweden does have an 11 rating but AFAICT, they don't actually use 11+, it's just 11 ([1]) The only thing I can think is some weird marketing move. Nil Einne (talk) 06:26, 6 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Should mention that Common Sense Media possibly does 11+ since I think they just have all ages, but they rated Animal Farm at 8+ [2]. References for earlier e.g. Australia has it at PG [3], NZ too I think [4], many of the Canadian provinces with ratings [5]. Not sure there's a BBFC rating yet but they don't have G [6]. Nil Einne (talk) 06:39, 6 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I think "12A" would be the nearest equivalent in the UK; "No one younger than 12 may be permitted to attend a 12A cinema screening unless they are accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to a 12A should consider whether the main feature is suitable for that child." Alansplodge (talk) 10:46, 14 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 8

Celebrity names

Why do female celebrites rarely use name diminutives, or at least not as much as male ones? I know Chris Rock, Jack Black, Eddie Murphy, Brad Pitt. But the only woman out of them are Alex Morgan and Mikey Madison. ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 12:55, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know, firstly, is it even true? If I look randomly at the cast of School of Rock I see Jack, Mike, Joey, Chris, and Frank, while the female names are Joan, Sarah, Miranda, Rivkah, Mariam, Aleisha, Caitlin, Jordan-Claire, and Veronica. So, alright, within this sample group of one movie it looks that way. I observe that the male names are all traditional shortenings of biblical names, while many of the female names are less traditional in the anglosphere. Then, I don't even know how to shorten most of them. Mary has lots of fun diminutives (including Polly), but do these apply to Mariam? Joan sometimes becomes Jo, but that sounds male, which isn't necessarily a problem but may be discouraging, and the only Veronica I knew didn't like being called Ronnie. Is it perhaps a fact that fewer of the female names in popular use, or in popular use among the demographic who become celebrities (is there such a demographic?), even have well-established short versions? Card Zero (talk) 14:14, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's probably misleading to address this question with merely anecdotal data. To take your own examples, Card Zero, off the top of my head we have Cher for Cheryl Sarkisian; Jo is often used 'femininely' in the UK (e.g. Jo Brand, and see Jo (given name)#Women!); Ronnie and Ron are applied by her friends to the character Veronica Lodge in the Archie Andrews universe; I myself have two female friends who insist on Vic and Sam.

Perusing List of one-word stage names will likely throw up a number of examples that are also diminutives, countering the OP's celebrity premise. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 15:53, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Hey, I made a sample, didn't I? That's statistics. Admittedly it would be more scientific to make two or three. But going hunting for diminutives doesn't refute the statistical premise, which is that you won't find many if you don't hunt for them. That is to say, you won't bump into as many female ones as male ones, just naturally without trying. I still don't know if it's true. But one discrepancy in cast lists between male and female actors, and maybe celebs in general, is that the men tend to be old and established. Do nicknames tend to develop over time? What were Julie Andrews and Kathy Bates billed as in their earliest roles, Julia and Kathleen maybe? That effect would skew things. Card Zero (talk) 16:35, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure how they were originally billed, but their actual birth names _are_ (as you may know) Julia Elizabeth Wells and Kathleen Doyle Bates, so their stage names _are_ diminutives (even though Julie and Kathy can also be names in their own right). This is my point: personal impressions are not reliable, a formal analysis of _representitive_ samples would be needed to address the original question, which makes a possibly incorrect assumption. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 21:25, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't mean pseudonyms or mononyms. ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 23:23, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Kathy Bates is not a pseudonym, it's a diminutive. Likewise with Chrissy Teigen. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:51, 8 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I do not see it mentioned that celebrity names are often influenced by the requirement of the union. SAG‑AFTRA requires that no two actors share the same professional name, and this rule has significantly shaped many celebrity names. Actors like Samuel L. Jackson, C. Thomas Howell, Michael Keaton, and Emma Stone modified their names specifically because their preferred versions were already registered. While not every diminutive or initialed name comes from a union conflict, the rule has undeniably influenced many well‑known stage names. Therefore, I believe the influence should be included in this discussion. ~2026-16820-81 (talk) 11:29, 12 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 12

The Naked and Famous

They haven't released anything since 2020... Safe to say they're disbanded? ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 21:11, 12 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Not without a source saying so. Some bands lie fallow for ages. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:47, 12 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Their website has a "contact us" option. If all else fails, try asking them. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:40, 13 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The article states that they performed in 2025. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 14:49, 13 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I know that. But they still nothing new was realased, so... I'm not sure. ~2026-22534-68 (talk) 11:51, 14 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

If they were still performing as late as last year, and you can't find anything saying they've disbanded, that's good evidence that they are still together. Unless, as I said above, you can find a source that says otherwise. But if they haven't disbanded, no such source will exist ... so, happy hunting. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 17:03, 14 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The 'band' is essentially a core of two composers/performers plus whoever they might invite to augment themselves with, so unless those two performers definitively state that they will never work with each other again, the band remains 'undisbanded' and has the potential to perform, and to write and release new material, if and when they so choose.

I invite you to consider the history of the band The Zombies, who broke up in 1968, reformed for one album in 1989 and played for a couple of years before returning to their solo careers, and then effectively reformed in 2000 and continue performing to this day. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ~2026-27434-43 (talk) 17:55, 14 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

"The Zombies"...? Nomen est omen. ‑‑Lambiam 12:28, 15 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 15

His Dark Materials

Is His Dark Materials similar to The Chronicles Of Narnia? Loksha (talk) 02:21, 15 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Define "similar". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:58, 15 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

They are both a series of fantasy novels. Reading our articles on The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials will no doubt expose any other similarities. Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:19, 15 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

A.W. Lawrence on Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

I know A.W. Lawrence famously hated the David Lean movie about his brother T.E. Lawrence, and published an article about his dislike in the Observer, December 16, 1962. But what did he say about it exactly? I can't find a full quotation anywhere, just snippets of it, and I'd love to read his exact words about the movie in full. Prismdragon9 (talk) 14:28, 15 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

May 16