User:Aleal/Talk Archive 18

Archive of Andrew's talk page.

Los que?
Hey, thanks for organizing all of the "foreign films"! I've always wondered how many dubbings they did of the movies. Anyway, do you know why Mexico called them "Los Muppets" and Spain called them "Los Teleñecos"? Was that a Henson thing, or did each country decide what to call them? That seems confusing, like if they called them something different in Canada or Australia. Do we know what the other countries in Central and South America called them, and which dubs they would get? (I'm assuming Brazil got stuff in Portuguese.) Gracias, hermano! -- Ken (talk ) 03:35, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
 * De nada, amigo! And there's still quite a few more to add for the recent films (it's harder to compile accurate info on the first three films, so I'm still working on those; I have decent Muppet Caper lists for Italy and Germany, but in Germany they retitled it several times, without changing the dub, so I may need Julian's help on that one). As I told you before, Spain and Mexico always dub things seperately, and in fact there are key differences between Castilian Spanish and Mexican Spanish. Further, for many years, most Mexican dubs were intended to also serve all Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, though in the past several years, Argentina usually gets their own dub; my DVDs list Peru, Columbia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Venezula, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Guetamala, El Salvador, Chile, Belice, Honduras, and the Dominican republic. A side-note: while Brazil's product is always dubbed into Portuguese, I'm not sure they always get seperate DVD releases. My Muppets y el Mago de Oz has English, Spanish, and Brazilian-recorded Portuguese tracks (and a full cast list for that; I admit, I splurged and bought the DVDs as much to have accurate dub credits as to listen to the different versions), but I don't think the movie was actually retitled for Brazil, since the same DVD is what was available there, and I don't think it aired on television (I do have a Brazilian title for Muppet Treasure Island, so that just might have aired theatrically; and oddly, the only version of MirrorMask I've been able to track down info on, and one of only three language tracks on the DVD, is the Brazilian Portuguese; the others are French, which should be easy to find info on normally but not in this case, and Thai!) Henson has never really consulted with dubbing, so each country decides on their own (so Spain has Teleñecos, Sweden uses Mupparna, Poland uses "Muppety," and there's still a few other variants) and that's also why there's a greater consistency in some countries than others. In Germany, for decades Eberhard Storeck translated the scripts, directed, and cast everyone, so they had a semi-uniform sound. In Mexico, since the 1990s, the casting has mostly been consistent, outside of Miss Piggy (and for Muppets Tonight, it seems there was some trade-off on Kermit, probably because he wasn't in that many episodes and depending on schedules when they recorded); plus, again with Germany apparently as an exception, and Japan I think, most dubbing is now supervised through Disney Character Voices International, and they have people in charge to make sure the voices are consistent and, on occasions when a character's unique sound is essential, at least somewhat match the original (high priorities in that area seem to include Donald Duck of course, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Kermit fortunately, and Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise). Ernesto Lezama as Gonzo has a higher pitch, but Raul Aldana, who you'd be glad to know does both Kermit and Rizzo, gets Kermit's sound down, much closer than the one they currently use on Plaza Sesamo. At some point, when I can figure out how to extract sound from DVDs and AVi files, and find a friend to help me host the files (Danny vetoed my earlier attempt with Oggs), I'd like to include comparative audio files on the International Character Translations pages. -- Andrew Leal (talk ) 04:08, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Wow, you sure know your stuff! Thanks! -- Ken  (talk ) 05:02, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Hi!
Can you please do me a favor and shrink Sesam 2 to the size it's supposed to be? I can't remember if it's supposed to be thumb or frame or something like that. Thanks! -- Ken (talk ) 22:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I love all the pictures you're adding! -- Ken  (talk ) 23:19, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Also...
Could you delete Costume Craze Muppet costumes? I don't see why a page should exist for an online merchant that sells costumes they don't create, especially when there are pages for the companies who produced the costumes. Or am I wrong in my thinking? -- ''Nate (talk ) 22:35, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Article vs. Subcategory
Question for you. On Halloween, I pulled out the seperate articles of costumes for Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and Muppet Babies, and plugged the categories in instead. Mainly so the costumes can be found in more centralized locations under Halloween. Now I'm wondering if it was a dumb move. What are your thoughts/opinions? -- ''Nate (talk ) 22:32, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi! That's something you should talk about with Danny. Originally, he didn't want subcategories to be mixed in with articles. I still don't like it myself, but now things have been relaxed somewhat, when it makes sense (i.e. having shows or movies included in their categories). In this case, it might work, but personally, I'd find it easier, especially given the small number, to be able to browse through all of them without having to open a subcat to see two Muppet Babies costume articles, three for Muppet Show characters, and so on. As for Costume Craze, can you identify the maker of the Kermit costume? If not, then it at the very least needs to be parked somewhere, possibly at Category talk:Muppet Halloween Costumes, prior to deletion. But I'd agree with you that it's not needed and not the way we do things. -- Andrew Leal (talk ) 22:41, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'll leave a message for Danny too on the subcats. I've created a talk page with the two Kermit costumes with unknown companies.  I know one is my adopted nephew's costume he had this Halloween, so I'll find out tonight who made it.  Because of my creating the page and parking the unknown costumes there, can we delete this article then as well Muppet Halloween costumes?  -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 23:03, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Done and done. And now I'm done until later tonight. Going to see Persepolis (the French animated film based on a graphic novel by an Iranian, with subtitles) before it poofs tomorrow. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:09, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm stuck on phone duty at work for awhile, and unless work comes across my desk I'll be twiddling my thumbs and irked that I'm having to postpone plans I made for going to dinner. But I get to go see CATS for the 100th time Tuesday so *NYAH*!!!! :) -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 23:21, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Screenshots
Since we're all talking about computers and stuff that doesn't work, can you explain how exactly to do a screenshot? I tried to send one to Scott a long time ago, but it never worked. (But it was probably me.) Thanks, and it's great to be on here again! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:54, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Hey, if it's from a computer screen, then just press the "Print Screen" button. There's another method, Ctrl alt something, but that's the basic way (it's also how I, for example, copy photos from PDF files, and then paste and save as Jpegs). For DVDs and stuff, it really depends on your program. For downloaded videos, similar deal. We'd have to discuss that on an individual basis. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:59, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, but then what? I press "Print Screen", but then nothing happens.  What's supposed to happen? -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 06:04, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah, sorry. That was step one. Step two is to then paste the image, the screenshot, into any image program: Paint, or anything else. Then save and label, and upload to the Wiki. The method also works with things like the Sesame Street Podcast and resource videos on iTunes, and *some* files viewed in Windows Media Player (but often you have to adjust the setting on that, and it's a whole 'nother task). I'm just so used to doing it I forget to mention the pasting part. Print Screen effectively copies the image. Scott, Danny, and I have done it a lot when dealing with possible Wiki bugs, as a simple way to show the other people what's on the screen. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 06:10, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You ROCK! I never knew how to do that either.  I am enthralled with me newfound computer knowledge!  -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 16:36, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh! See, I don't even know if I have any image programs.  I probably don't, so I guess I'll have to forget about screenshots until later.  Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:10, 1 March 2008 (UTC)
 * No, if you have any version of Windows, MS Paint comes with it automatically. It's in your Accessories section. Paste to there, and trim and save however you like. It has its limitations, so I use IrfanView myself, but we can discuss that later. Go ahead and give Paint a try. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:28, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Emmet Otter
Hi Andrew, I can't tell you my name for the community portal, because I signed a NDA and have to keep my anonymity. I auditioned for the Emmet Otter musical.

-"The Next Ma Otter" <3

I did it!
More later. -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:22, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Monaco
Hi -- Are you using Monaco yet, or are you still seeing Monobook? I'm really curious about what you think. -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 18:28, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Just added my thoughts to current events. Princess Grace would be proud of the new skin. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:16, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Fictional Celebrities
I was going over the list while working on Celebrities, and was wondering what your thoughts on adding characters such as Blue who appeared in the We Are Family video. The list states Muppet/Henson productions, but Cliff Huxtable is listed, and that was an episode of The Cosby Show, not a Henson/Muppet production. Either way it matters not much to me, but it's a fun list and I thought I'd feel out what your thoughts were on it. -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 20:32, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Personally, I now kind of feel like Cliff Huxtable and the one character from The West Wing should be taken out, since it gets into an iffy area. But it's up to you. I don't really care one way or the other, so feel free to add Blue (which I think fits better, as it was a celebrity-packed appearance, than regulars on a sitcom where the Muppets appeared once; it's on the same lines as Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue almost, though I don't think Blue actually appeared with the Muppets, just in the same video, while Barney the dinosaur of all people directly referred to Bear and Big Bird). -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:53, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'll play around with it in my head. I am with you, and favor keeping it just Muppet productions only.  It's a little more quirky that way.  But then we'd have to lose Big Boy and Ronald McDonald, which I think are too cool in their connections. -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 21:16, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, Big Boy and Ronald are special. Maybe leave out the TV show people only (since including C.J. Gregg from The West Wing begs the question of why Abby Bartlett isn't included since she had a bigger scene with Elmo, or whoever Kristin Chenoweth's character is, who has one line with Zoe, and so on), or include a seperate TV Show Casts paragraph and just list the shows, especially since fame of these characters on their own is pretty subjective (I wouldn't really know who C.J. Gregg is if I hadn't seen that one episode, and even then she didn't register with me), whereas if they appeared in character in a Sesame/Muppet production or all-star special, that alone pretty much verifies their celebrity status, at least at that point in time. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:19, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Big Bird Sings Different Songs
Hi, Andrew! When you get a minute, can you check your version of Big Bird Sings!? There seem to have been 2 versions, and some songs were changed, and I'm hoping you have the version that I don't have! Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:49, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Nope. My version matches the 1974 original. And even the cassette version I had from the 1980s as a child was the same, so the variant may not have been too widely circulated. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:58, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Awesome! You do have the version I don't have!  I only have this as half of Just Friends, which is different, and my college library has a tape of Big Bird Sings that's also different.  I'll have to confirm it the next time I go, but I'm glad you've got a first edition!  I can't wait to hear the songs I don't have! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 06:32, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
 * An odd footnote. I just checked the front cover, and it claims a song called "If I Could Fly" is included. It's not in my version, and looking around, it doesn't seem to be any version, suggesting that the front cover was mocked up in advance and, when the contents changed or something, nobody remembered to adjust it. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:56, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Title vs. title
Hey Mr. Man. You get my next question on your page! :) When creating an article for Merchandise, which is the proper format?  Big Bird Bubble Face or Big Bird bubble face?  Dark Crystal Lunchbox or Dark Crystal lunchbox?  I'm asking cause I saw Brad moving a bunch of pages from things like Lunchbox to lunchbox, and I know I'm guilty of doing caps on titles myself, so I just wanted to find out for sure so I don't cause undue clean up later on.  -- 20:52, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Hey, Nate! For a long time, we've been inconsistent about it, but lately, Danny's tried to keep merchandise in lowercase, so check with him. Something like "Big Bird Bubble Face" should stay all caps, since it's an official title used by Little Kids Inc. for their bubble toys of that nature. So "Elmo Magna Doodle" would have caps, "Twiddlebugs novelty insect repellant" wouldn't. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:00, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe in like three or four more years I'll finally get it all straight. With the categories and names and such.  HA!  I was going round with Brad today on a Liscense category.  I was the dummy who didn't realize it was an article ABOUT the liscensee.  sigh.  It's not easy being blonde.  -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 21:45, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that one is particularly weird, because we decided on "Dark Crystal lunchbox", but then didn't actually go through and change all the articles. So there's a lot of stuff that doesn't fit that guideline right now. -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:47, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay. So if it's the "offical name" then it's caps.  If a company name is included, then it's caps.  But if it's just a description, then lower case.  I think I got it.  Just to make sure, it would be Muppet Christmas Carol kids meal (Taco Bell) or Follow That Bird kids meal (Wendy's) correct?  I went ahead and did links because if that is right I'll create the pages today. -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 15:28, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Close, but unless disambiguation is needed, it should be "Wendy's Follow That Bird kids meal" and so on (and actually, "Wendy's Kids Meal" is generally used as a brand ala "Happy Meal" etc, so it should be capitalized, not sure about Taco Bell). Further, are you writing about the kids meals or the toys? I would think the toys, in which case it would just be "Wendy's Follow That Bird toys" and so on. Take a look at Category:McDonald's for more examples. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 17:27, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Teach a man to fish he'll eat for life. Teach a Blonde to Wiki and they get no work done.  I didn't grab my fast food book this morning, so I'll have to check out Taco Bell to see if they are unifrom about their Kid's Meal promotions.  I honestly don't remember.  And you are correct about the toys, which I forgot should be included.  *sigh*  -- ''<font color="Purple">Nate  (<font color="Purple" size="1">talk ) 18:08, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Northern Calloway
Hiya -- Way back in April '06, you added a sentence to Northern Calloway citing a Boston Globe article talking about his retirement. You wouldn't happen to remember where you got that, would you? I just noticed that it could use a source and a quote. -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 01:51, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I got it through Lexis-Nexis, which I no longer have access to. If you're able to get into that, or any other newspaper database, it should be easy to find. I don't think there was much to quote, though, it was pretty much what I wrote. As far as I can recall, the reporter passed it on as coming from an unnamed CTW spokesperson, but I don't think a precise quote was given. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 01:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Bob!
Thanks for picking the Bob discography! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:36, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Good morning!
Hey, I'm at the library again, and something weird is happening. It seems like every other page, I have to log in again, and I can't figure out why. I just wanted to mention it, in case the same thing was happening to you. -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 18:43, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Danny and I were both having problems with "loss of session data" errors for awhile, although it seems to have cleared up; it might be related. It might also have to do with how slow the wiki is today! -- <font color="Blue">Wendy (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 18:57, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I haven't edited much today or yesterday, but same deal here. It's just Wikia growing pains, I expect, part of some upgrade or fix. Also, you don't have to log in again. The message says that, but if you're already logged in (look at the top, and see if you are), just go back on your browser and try to edit again. While this is going on, if you're doing any longer edits, I'd suggest copying and pasting to a word doc (if your library computers let you access word), so you don't spend hours and lose everything (as I've had happen to me too often with my connection issues). -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:06, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, this has been kicking me out somehow, to where I see the red numbers, as if I never logged in at all. Oh well.  I'm only here when I need to do fast repetitive data entry like running back and forth between albums to check links, songwriters, and dates and stuff.  Anything long I'll do at home, since that's where all my stuff is anyway.  Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:16, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the site has been a huge pain today. It was good for a little while this afternoon, but now it's messy again. Grumble grumble.
 * Anyway, what's up with the Milo the Page page? You say that there's a page for Milo, but as far as I can tell, there ain't. -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:28, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I could have swron I'd created it months ago, but can't find it (I know I had a better picture too, but can't find that either, probably lost when my computer was stolen). So I undeleted, but I'm renaming it (his name is Milo and he's a page; "Milo the Page" is a Cecilism). -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:32, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Hey, are you having problems with the site right now? It's not fully loading pages for me, and is being generally slow. But the only person on Skype right now is saying that it's my computer, which is nonsense. How do things look for you? -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:33, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Don't ask me. I'm having a recurring issue I've had with the sidebar video ads, where the flash in a "Pokemon seizure" way. It just now stopped for a second only. That's been going on for a couple months, but nobody else sees it, so it probably is my computer. The only other problem I'm getting is the "Database locked/Information could not be processed, please log in again" issue. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:35, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * The sidebar ads aren't there in the quartz skins, if you are willing to deal with the setup. I know because there used to be one that perpetually popped up a "you're browser isn't configured to display all the media" message for me, so I switched for awhile.  It depends on what irritates you more -- the odd layout (which isn't that bad if you use it long enough) or the flashing :).  -- <font color="Blue">Wendy  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 20:51, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks a lot on helping me put that up. I was having trouble. I hate to ask for help but sometimes others hate for me to bother them. But thanks again. -- <font color="Blue">Kyle (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 10:14, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Don't mention it. Just remember two things; one, that all images have to be preced with Image: and two, you need to set it to thumb|300px, unless you shrink the image to 300 pixels in advance (which you can do with any image software; I use IrfanView myself, since it's free and easy to use). -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:18, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Disney and Muppet Pins
Hey, Andrew, when you get a chance, can you go back over to Nate's talk page? I think he had some more questions about pins. Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 03:25, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Yoko
Hey babe: Sorry I was putting off responding to your question about the accent marks... I knew it would end up being a big project for me to look into it, and it was! -- <font color="Blue">Danny (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 19:50, 4 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Understandable, I figured it would turn into a current events issue. I just wasn't sure if you were getting the messages. Thanks! By the way, I just read your guidelines, and that makes perfect sense to me, sounds clear, and hopefully will work as a good compromise. I'm glad some of our other international/multilingual users like Henrik are chiming in, too. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:03, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Spanish Questions
1) Talking about dubs and stuff, is there a separate dub for Follow That Bird, or is there a Spanish track on the US DVD? I'll bet that sometimes there can be a Spanish version for here, and a completely different dub for Mexico.  Have you ever seen something like that happen?

2) I finally found the Plaza Sesamo page you've been talking about, and I've been helping where I can. Do they have running times on the boxes?  I'm curious if they're half hours or hours.

3) By the way, thanks for your research into Buena Vista and Disneyland Records. I'm going to have to find you copies of those 2 books!  You really should have them! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 06:12, 3 February 2008 (UTC)


 * 1.) Hi! Sorry I didn't reply sooner (or to your e-mails; I'll get to them). It s been kind of a rough week, and I'm still trying to finish the Copa Sésamo page, which I've had open in an editing window and partially expanded since Thursday. The US DVD does have the Spanish track (and also Portuguese), but I haven't been able to confirm the voices (no credits and no listings online), outside of one Jorge Roig Jr. (trivia: his dad dubbed Doc Hopper in [[The Muppet Movie; that version was included on the Columbia/Sony DVD, but not the Disney one). Plaza Sesamo itself only credits the dubbing houses (in the credits airing on Mexican TV, anyway, not always in the PBS versions, for some reason), but I've sourced most of the main voices via websites like Doblaje Espanol, a press release when the series won an award for dubbing (which identified many of the regulars), etc. While they always use different dubs in Spain and in Mexico. Sometimes Argentina get sspecialized dubs, sometimes it doesn't, and a few shows on Mexican TV like Pinky and the Brain were dubbed in Venezuala! The Spanish resource videos on iTunes are a hodgepodge: some use bilingual actors in New York (for A is for Asthma, they chose the Sesame characters/performers specifically for that purpose, so only Kevin Clash and Pam Arciero had to be dubbed), some were dubbed in Mexico, and some used a mix (New York, Mexico, and Venezuala). Ssome older projects, including The StoryTeller which I'm still researching, were recorded in Los Angeles, usually with veteran Mexican "dobladores" who had relocated, but these were the versions used in all Latin American countries and usually as the tracks heard on DVDs unless a complete redub occurred, but again, not in Spain. Anyway, they sometimes do separate dubs for the same project, but it's seldom, and never with a Sesame project to my mind, and is mostly a recent phenomenon as far as I can tell One of the better examples is Desparate Housewives (dubbed in Mexico for Mexican TV, but dubbed by bilingual L.A. actors for the track heard via the option available on some TVs, "Espanol where available" etc.) For Ratatouille, they did something slightly odd. They dubbed it in Mexico with most of the same Mexican actors but in two versions, one for Mexican audiences and the other, with one or two roles recast, apparently without certain slang or pronunciations. I'm not sure I get the difference myself. A longer essay than intended, but I hope that clears it up (or doesn't, since as you can tell, the matter is quite complex). And as a final note, some but not all of the *French* tracks included on DVDs were done in Quebec specifically for French Canadians (Warner Bros. usually notes "Francais Quebecois," but Disney doesn't; the dubs of the older films are usually from France, the newer ones usually in Quebec).


 * 2. Running time on the 1993 VHS titles (I don't have access to the 1999 ones) is always 30 minutes. The DVDs are all approximately an hour (some say 60, one says 54, and one literaly says "approximately 60 minutes").


 * 3. Thanks! A website, which you may have heard of, Read Along Adventures, has the entire Dark Crystal read-along for download as a flash file, with sound and scanned images to simulate the experience and allow one to "turn the page," but I haven't figured it out yet. I'd like to, to see if I can ID any of the other voices on that record. Years ago now, I'd corresponded with Tony Pope, now sadly deceased, who was in a ton of those records since the late 1970s (75 by his own count), often as Goofy, as well as cartoons, and a checked the list he'd sent me, and confirmed he was in Dark Crystal (and also voiced Yoda in a couple of records, oh and as a post-script to point 1, he even played Goofy in the *Spanish* Mousercise album; probably, as with Clarence Nash dubbing Donald in many languages or Jim's "El Patito," they gave the actors a script marked phonetically and had a fluent director to guide them). No word on Labyrinth, though, although the book text was careful to use the term "sound-alike voices," and in both cases most of the voices weren't by Muppeteers but dubbed by British actors, so they probably used some combination of "the usual suspects" or other LA actors. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 07:27, 3 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks! Yeah, I wrote to the read-along guy, and he didn't even know about the "Golden Age" book!  I couldn't imagine attempting a website like that without that book!  There have been so many variations of the same record numbers (with different covers and/or text and/or recorded material), that you need that book to keep it all straight!  I'll have to bring it over your house; there are tons of color pictures, and I could just look through it all day for fun!


 * Thank you for all of your essays about dubbing and other animated history stuff! I love you, Voicechaser! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:33, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Hola, Andrés!
Hey, I noticed that the Spanish edition of Elmo in Grouchland had a tilde on the wrong "n", so I moved the page. But then I noticed that the "la" in "tierra" wasn't capitalized, but the "los" in "grunones" is. Is that supposed to be like that, because "Grouchland" is one word in English, or should it be lowercase too? Gracias! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 02:30, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Ken! Nice catch, and my fault for not looking closely enough at the video label. As for the "la" and "los," the label doesn't help on that, and capitalization is the one area where the Wiki sometimes veers from the native language in a few cases. In this case, though, it generally seems both should be lowercase, so I'll go ahead and move. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 03:35, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
 * That reminds me of something. (How many times have I said that?)  I noticed that the page translated Ernie and Bert to Enrique and Beto, but left The Queen of Trash.  Was she called La Reina de Basura in the movie?  Would you translate every character name on pages for the dubs of US films?  (Sorry if you're working on something, and I keep bothering you!  It looks like you're finally getting to work on the Mexican stuff you wanted to work on!) -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 03:57, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
 * It's mainly because those have separate pages, and "La Reina de Basura" is a literal translation of a title more than a character name. It was the only other name that was changed, though, so feel free to fix it on the page (usually, I've been noting differences in character names when known and relevant, but not necessarily occupational labels, though Julian convinced me to include "Nahcrichtensprecher" on Die Muppet Show since it was the consistent translation for The Newsman, but I haven't been consistent on that. And the library in El Paso happened to have a copy of "Elmo en la Tierra de [word with tildes which I'm tired of]," so I burned a DVD for handy reference, and since it's one of the few occasions where the human characters like Gordon have been dubbed (Sesamstrasse did that for the early seasons, when it was basically a dub with occasional German films and cartoons as opposed to a full co-production, and I have more info on that era to add on some point). -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:03, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I'll probably leave that one alone, since I didn't even see "Elmo" in English! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 04:19, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

Box Links
Hi! I wanted to see what you thought about something. Do you think it would be a good idea to link the years in performer boxes, or do you think that's not necessary? I was thinking about it because I was reading the page on Bert, and I saw Frank's and Eric's years, but the 1969 and other years weren't linked, and all the other years on the page aren't linked either. So I was wondering how you felt about it. Hope you're doing well! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:41, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, we haven't bothered with linking years from the performer boxes, since it's unnecessary code, and doesn't really show much. Way back, there was some question on year linking in general, but I think it's better to leave it to the main text or years of publication/production. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 05:57, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, but then how does that relate to linking things like birth years of celebrities? If a celebrity's page says they were born in 1961, and then you click on that link, and you go to a page of what the Muppets were doing that year, that never made sense to me.  On the other hand, if you see Bert's box with Frank's years in it, then at least you're thinking about Frank, and clicking 1969 will show you Muppet stuff.  I was just wondering about stuff like that.  I guess I'll bring that up later on, since to me it seems like years should only be linked if it goes to something relevant. -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 06:10, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * You can bring it up on current events. Personally, I just don't want to mess with it on the performer boxes, since part of the point of templates/infoboxes in general is that only essential information should be linked. Date linking from song boxes and books makes sense, since often they need to be added to the timeline, so it provides a useful link back which can be checked at some point; less so for recasts, which we don't track that way, and in some cases these are approximate dates or guesses anyway, and it distracts from the performer names, which are the main thing the performer box highlights. Besides, the performer is automatically linked in these cases, and I don't think it's worth checking and manually adding dates which in many cases at some point will be changed anyway. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 07:13, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I guess you're right. It's late and I'm getting OCD.  There's enough stuff to click on Bert's page that you can get to all kinds of other things.  For some reason I was just noticing that none of the years on his page (even the ones by the record albums) were linked, but the titles would get you all over the place as well.  I don't want to tie up Current Events with 50 different questions, so maybe I'll wait a while and see if I can cut them down to some policy and/or style questions that I can turn into brief questions.  (It looks like my top 3 are going to be dash standardization, if capitalization should reflect certain rules or what an item actually says, and the (incoherent) Muppet Show US airdates.)  But I've got tons of songs to write up, and other stuff to do, so I'll let those go for a while.  Thanks for your thoughts! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 07:42, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The record album years probably could be linked (and maybe should, if some aren't on the timeline, it's a way to keep track). With Bert and others, like I said, I worry about it detracting from the performer links; the dates are just there for information. And remind me sometime (probably not this week) to take another look at those Muppet Show airdates. I'll probably just take them out, and at some point, if you and Danny compare lists, a separate page listing known airdates in given areas would be a much better way to handle that. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 08:09, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

Son of Record links
Hi! Thanks for last night! Everything works. New question: How do I go from an album page to a certain point on the "Carry About" page? Those just have double equal sign headings. Is that an anchored link, or a divide tag? Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:51, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Can you link directly to the page you're talking about? I can't find it. And anyway, the same principle works on all headings of that nature, so if a heading is ==Albums Made of Cheese==, you just copy that heading to the article title: Sesame Albums#Albums Made of Cheese. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:54, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Are you hungry? Anyway, I want to go from The Muppet Alphabet Album to its counterpart that's on the Sesame Street 45 RPM Boxed Sets page.  Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:58, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, then you'd use Sesame Street 45 RPM Boxed Sets (and as with any links, you can add the | if you want the text to appear as just the item title or whatnot. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 22:02, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks! That had been bothering me for a while, where a link to a certain 45 box was buried way down on the page, and the album only linked to the top.  I like it when links shoot right to where you want to see something.  By the way, "albums made of cheese" reminds me of the old record store chain called "Licorice Pizza" that we had out here in the '70's! -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 22:19, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Record links
Hi! I didn't think you'd be back this early. Since you're here, I just thought of something. How do I jump from the Sesame Street Records page to the middle of the Sesame Street Singles page, to hit a certain section? I'm going to look inside those pages in a second, and I'm not sure how to explain what I want to do, but I was wondering if that was possible. Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 22:36, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, we finished early. It sounds like you're talking about anchored links again. There's several on the 45 RPM boxed sets page for the singles, ie. linking to IJKL by using this: Sesame_Street_Singles#1971ijkl, which will show up like this. Basically, you look at the code for the singles page, and look for the tags marked with "div id" etc. The text in the id section, you just attach to the article name, with the #, and it will link directly to it. If you're talking about individual chart sections, like for the different labels, it's the same thing, only easier, since you just use the headings for each section: Sesame_Street_Singles#Warner_Bros._Records_singles . Hope this helps! -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 22:51, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, I took a look around, and here's what I want to do. I was thinking that if a person who doesn't know anything about the Sesame Street Records label wants to see a complete listing of everything they made, they have the LP page to look at, but they might not know that the 45's are on a whole other page, way down under all the Columbia ones.  So I want to say something like, "Click here for a list of the singles", and have that jump to the heading right before CTW 99001.  But I wasn't sure if I had to put a divide tag, since I noticed there's a place for the little |- thing above the label sections, just like the individual 45's.  But I think you just answered that part, so I'll try it, and see if it works.  Thanks!  (Keep reading!) -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:21, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * You don't have to add a div tag for the labels, since headings already function as anchored links, so just link to the one you want, like so: Sesame Street Singles. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:33, 26 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks! -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 23:48, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Where is it?
Hi! I saw you welcome a new person the other night, and I was reminded of something. How come the Community Portal isn't on the left side anymore? -- <font color="Blue">Ken (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 02:43, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi! I hadn't got around to this, because frankly I can't answer that. Scott and Danny are the ones who fiddle with the sidebar code. I hadn't noticed the link was gone and I'm not sure when, but it was mentioned in passing in some older conversation as an expendable link which most people weren't using or noticing. -- <font color="Blue">Andrew Leal (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 21:56, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, no big deal. I just noticed it was gone because I used to use it as a shortcut to the stats page, but now I made my own stats link from my user page, so I can always see my own stats.  Anyway, I just noticed that some admins' greetings still refer to it, and if I were a new person, I'd want to see this "Community Portal" thing before agreeing to give my name to it.  (Online security and privacy and all that.)  But I guess they can always ask you what it is. -- <font color="Blue">Ken  (<font color="Blue" size="1">talk ) 22:19, 27 January 2008 (UTC)