Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 24
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. What American university gained its familiar sports mascot through a special agreement with Walt Disney? Oregon for its Donald Duck mascot logo
2. Who performed Frozen in Time, Vertigo, Above the Below, Drowned Alive, and Revolution?
3. On standard cubic dice, what's the sum of the numbers on any pair of opposite faces? I believe it is 7 - 1 vs. 6, 2 vs. 5, 3 vs. 4
4. What 1954 novel's chapters include "Painted Faces and Long Hair," "Beast from Air," "The Shell and the Glasses," and "Castle Rock"? a guess - On The Road
5. What Irish immigrant's barn, at 137 DeKoven Street, made headlines on October 8, 1871? Mrs. O'Leary when the cow started a fire
6. What does the 'L' stand for in the acronym LASER? something amplified something emitting radiation. I can't think of anything else, so I will guess "light."
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these movies? European Vacation, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Love and Death on Long Island, Magnolia, Mallrats, Requiem for a Dream, Sisters, Time Bandits. game shows in the movie?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Jim Carrey has played the lead in two different adaptations of what author's works? He's been Horton hearing the Who and the Grinch stealing Christmas, in two different Dr. Seuss movies. correct
2. What sport does a "kegler" enjoy? In German, a "kegel" is a bowling pin. Keglers are bowlers. correct
3. What 38-year-old brand was discontinued two weeks ago, replaced by "FedEx Office"? R.I.P. Kinko's! correct
4. The "big-sea-water" Gitche Gumee in the first line of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" is what modern-day body of water? Lake Superior. This one's a little easier if you know "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." wrong lake
5. What band released identically titled eponymous albums in 1994, 2001, and 2008, which fans tend to call the "Blue," "Green," and "Red" albums? Weezer, never shorts of creativity, has three separate albums just called Weezer.
6. Whom did Howard Carter discover in KV62 in 1922? He was the egyptologist who discovered the tomb of (born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia) King Tut. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Alias, China Beach, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Mad Men, and One Tree Hill. Each series abruptly jumped forward years in time at some point during its run. (Or will, in the case of Mad Men, which won't jump ahead until the second season premiere next month.) that seems unfair
1. What American university gained its familiar sports mascot through a special agreement with Walt Disney? Oregon for its Donald Duck mascot logo
2. Who performed Frozen in Time, Vertigo, Above the Below, Drowned Alive, and Revolution?
3. On standard cubic dice, what's the sum of the numbers on any pair of opposite faces? I believe it is 7 - 1 vs. 6, 2 vs. 5, 3 vs. 4
4. What 1954 novel's chapters include "Painted Faces and Long Hair," "Beast from Air," "The Shell and the Glasses," and "Castle Rock"? a guess - On The Road
5. What Irish immigrant's barn, at 137 DeKoven Street, made headlines on October 8, 1871? Mrs. O'Leary when the cow started a fire
6. What does the 'L' stand for in the acronym LASER? something amplified something emitting radiation. I can't think of anything else, so I will guess "light."
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these movies? European Vacation, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Love and Death on Long Island, Magnolia, Mallrats, Requiem for a Dream, Sisters, Time Bandits. game shows in the movie?
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Jim Carrey has played the lead in two different adaptations of what author's works? He's been Horton hearing the Who and the Grinch stealing Christmas, in two different Dr. Seuss movies. correct
2. What sport does a "kegler" enjoy? In German, a "kegel" is a bowling pin. Keglers are bowlers. correct
3. What 38-year-old brand was discontinued two weeks ago, replaced by "FedEx Office"? R.I.P. Kinko's! correct
4. The "big-sea-water" Gitche Gumee in the first line of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" is what modern-day body of water? Lake Superior. This one's a little easier if you know "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." wrong lake
5. What band released identically titled eponymous albums in 1994, 2001, and 2008, which fans tend to call the "Blue," "Green," and "Red" albums? Weezer, never shorts of creativity, has three separate albums just called Weezer.
6. Whom did Howard Carter discover in KV62 in 1922? He was the egyptologist who discovered the tomb of (born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia) King Tut. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Alias, China Beach, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Mad Men, and One Tree Hill. Each series abruptly jumped forward years in time at some point during its run. (Or will, in the case of Mad Men, which won't jump ahead until the second season premiere next month.) that seems unfair
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Polygamy Porter
From the Wasatch Brewing Company - Polygamy Porter. It's advertising line - why have just one?
Brilliant!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 17
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. Jim Carrey has played the lead in two different adaptations of what author's works? Dr. Seuss (Cat in the Hat, The Grinch)
2. What sport does a "kegler" enjoy? bowling
3. What 38-year-old brand was discontinued two weeks ago, replaced by "FedEx Office"? Kinkos
4. The "big-sea-water" Gitche Gumee in the first line of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" is what modern-day body of water? now *this* is a good question. I think it is Lake Champlain.
5. What band released identically titled eponymous albums in 1994, 2001, and 2008, which fans tend to call the "Blue," "Green," and "Red" albums?
6. Whom did Howard Carter discover in KV62 in 1922? King Tut
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Alias, China Beach, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Mad Men, and One Tree Hill.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The longbows that the English used to revolutionize warfare during the Hundred Years War were mostly made from what kind of wood? Baby, it's yew. correct
2. Both the sports movies on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" list, ranking the greatest films ever, concern what sport? Boxing: the only two sports movies on the AFI's list are Rocky and Raging Bull. correct
3. What country has, despite its small size, produced the two fastest 100-meter sprinters in track history? Asafa Powell and new world record holder Usain Bolt are both from Jamaica. correct
4. Who only stuck around, according to Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo, "while one with moderate haste might tell a hundred"? The old king's ghost in Hamlet.
5. The euro is divided into one hundred what? One hundred cents. That's a little Tuesday Trivia lesson for newbies: it's usually the most, um, cents-ible answer. correct
6. Of the one hundred titles in a Scrabble game, how many are the only letter of their kind? There's only one J, K, Q, X, and Z. Did you forget K? Yeah, I would have as well. never having played, I can only guess at Scrabble questions
7. What unusual distinction is shared by, as far as I can tell, fewer than 20 people, including George Custer, Bette Davis, St. Dominic, Duke Ellington, William Halsey, Henry VIII, Douglas Macarthur, and Mozart? They've all been name-checked in the titles of Billboard Hot 100 number one singles. Other possible names on the list: Julian "Hey Jude" Lennon and "My" Sharona Alperin, currently selling real estate in L.A. No, I'm serious. Yea!! I actually got this Q7.
1. Jim Carrey has played the lead in two different adaptations of what author's works? Dr. Seuss (Cat in the Hat, The Grinch)
2. What sport does a "kegler" enjoy? bowling
3. What 38-year-old brand was discontinued two weeks ago, replaced by "FedEx Office"? Kinkos
4. The "big-sea-water" Gitche Gumee in the first line of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" is what modern-day body of water? now *this* is a good question. I think it is Lake Champlain.
5. What band released identically titled eponymous albums in 1994, 2001, and 2008, which fans tend to call the "Blue," "Green," and "Red" albums?
6. Whom did Howard Carter discover in KV62 in 1922? King Tut
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Alias, China Beach, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Mad Men, and One Tree Hill.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The longbows that the English used to revolutionize warfare during the Hundred Years War were mostly made from what kind of wood? Baby, it's yew. correct
2. Both the sports movies on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" list, ranking the greatest films ever, concern what sport? Boxing: the only two sports movies on the AFI's list are Rocky and Raging Bull. correct
3. What country has, despite its small size, produced the two fastest 100-meter sprinters in track history? Asafa Powell and new world record holder Usain Bolt are both from Jamaica. correct
4. Who only stuck around, according to Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo, "while one with moderate haste might tell a hundred"? The old king's ghost in Hamlet.
5. The euro is divided into one hundred what? One hundred cents. That's a little Tuesday Trivia lesson for newbies: it's usually the most, um, cents-ible answer. correct
6. Of the one hundred titles in a Scrabble game, how many are the only letter of their kind? There's only one J, K, Q, X, and Z. Did you forget K? Yeah, I would have as well. never having played, I can only guess at Scrabble questions
7. What unusual distinction is shared by, as far as I can tell, fewer than 20 people, including George Custer, Bette Davis, St. Dominic, Duke Ellington, William Halsey, Henry VIII, Douglas Macarthur, and Mozart? They've all been name-checked in the titles of Billboard Hot 100 number one singles. Other possible names on the list: Julian "Hey Jude" Lennon and "My" Sharona Alperin, currently selling real estate in L.A. No, I'm serious. Yea!! I actually got this Q7.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Happy Bloomsday
I am very pleased to share a birthday with perhaps the most famous date in literature this side of the Ides of March - June 16th, Bloomsday. Ulysses depicts the events in the life of Leopold Bloom as he wanders through Dublin on June 16th, 1904. Someday I would like to celebrate in Dublin. It would be a treat, though I can skip the kippers.
In the meantime, I will refer readers to this summary of Ulysses (aka, Ulysses for Dummies) should the original text prove too intimidating.
In the meantime, I will refer readers to this summary of Ulysses (aka, Ulysses for Dummies) should the original text prove too intimidating.
Not for the acrophobic
I will NOT be taking this hike on a future birthday, but it is quite an adventure. The guy who took the video is insane. As one commenter said, "my nuts were in my stomach the whole time I watched this." Be sure to watch it full screen. I understand this gorge is near Malaga.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A footnote in US history I did not know
Consider The Rescue, the sculpture at left by Horatio Greenough. The work depicts Daniel Boone wresting a tomahawk from a savage Indian while a helpless mother and child cower in the background. It certainly reinforces a number of stereotypes that seem simplistic and dated now. But this sculpture adorned the East Front entrance of the U.S. Capitol from 1853 to 1958.
After 20 years of protests, the Capitol architect finally removed The Rescue in 1958. I found this story to be of interest because the current administration and its mouthpieces (like Antonin Scalia and Joe Lieberman) continue to threaten dire consequences from the modern day savages if we don't let the brave US government protect us. Scalia just warned that granting detainees access to habeas corpus “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.”
I am very weary of these blustering pronouncements. What happened to "speak softly and carry a big stick"?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 10
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. The longbows that the English used to revolutionize warfare during the Hundred Years War were mostly made from what kind of wood? yew - pluck yew!
2. Both the sports movies on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" list, ranking the greatest films ever, concern what sport? boxing (Rocky and Raging Bull)
3. What country has, despite its small size, produced the two fastest 100-meter sprinters in track history? Jamaica (the new record holder and Asafa Powell)
4. Who only stuck around, according to Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo, "while one with moderate haste might tell a hundred"? Julius Caesar??
5. The euro is divided into one hundred what? cents
6. Of the one hundred titles in a Scrabble game, how many are the only letter of their kind? I'll guess two - Q and X.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by, as far as I can tell, fewer than 20 people, including George Custer, Bette Davis, St. Dominic, Duke Ellington, William Halsey, Henry VIII, Douglas Macarthur, and Mozart? Could this have something to do with the titles of pop songs? I can think of "Betty Davis Eyes," "Sir Duke," "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," "Rock Me, Amadeus." Maybe dead celebrities in the titles of #1 songs.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Maltese, Westie, and Bichon Frise dog breeds all share what color of coat? White, if they've been washed lately. correct
2. What movie begins with a screen showing the dictionary definition of the word "replicant"? Replicants are what the androids are called in Blade Runner. correct
3. What island is home to Europe's largest volcano? Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily. correct
4. The tiny Yorkshire village of Loxley is most famous as the birthplace of what legendary figure? Robin Hood is called "Robin of Locksley" in some stories, after his alleged hometown. correct
5. What rock star recently recorded a new album with his old band Mudcrutch, which broke up in 1975? Some of Mudcrutch went on to become Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The rest of Mudcrutch probably drives trucks or sells insurance. correct
6. In 1997, at South Africa's Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, Nelson Mandela awarded a posthumous honor on what other activist? Gandhi, who was famously set off on the road to social protest when he was kicked off a train in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1893. guess I don't know much Gandhi history. I never knew that he travelled outside India.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these NBA stars, and no others? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Oscar Robertson, and Nate Thurmond. Each had a jersey number retired by two separate NBA teams--three, in Chamberlain's case. In Jordan and Maravich's cases, the numbers were retired by a second team they never even played for!
1. The longbows that the English used to revolutionize warfare during the Hundred Years War were mostly made from what kind of wood? yew - pluck yew!
2. Both the sports movies on the AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" list, ranking the greatest films ever, concern what sport? boxing (Rocky and Raging Bull)
3. What country has, despite its small size, produced the two fastest 100-meter sprinters in track history? Jamaica (the new record holder and Asafa Powell)
4. Who only stuck around, according to Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo, "while one with moderate haste might tell a hundred"? Julius Caesar??
5. The euro is divided into one hundred what? cents
6. Of the one hundred titles in a Scrabble game, how many are the only letter of their kind? I'll guess two - Q and X.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by, as far as I can tell, fewer than 20 people, including George Custer, Bette Davis, St. Dominic, Duke Ellington, William Halsey, Henry VIII, Douglas Macarthur, and Mozart? Could this have something to do with the titles of pop songs? I can think of "Betty Davis Eyes," "Sir Duke," "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," "Rock Me, Amadeus." Maybe dead celebrities in the titles of #1 songs.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Maltese, Westie, and Bichon Frise dog breeds all share what color of coat? White, if they've been washed lately. correct
2. What movie begins with a screen showing the dictionary definition of the word "replicant"? Replicants are what the androids are called in Blade Runner. correct
3. What island is home to Europe's largest volcano? Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily. correct
4. The tiny Yorkshire village of Loxley is most famous as the birthplace of what legendary figure? Robin Hood is called "Robin of Locksley" in some stories, after his alleged hometown. correct
5. What rock star recently recorded a new album with his old band Mudcrutch, which broke up in 1975? Some of Mudcrutch went on to become Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The rest of Mudcrutch probably drives trucks or sells insurance. correct
6. In 1997, at South Africa's Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, Nelson Mandela awarded a posthumous honor on what other activist? Gandhi, who was famously set off on the road to social protest when he was kicked off a train in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1893. guess I don't know much Gandhi history. I never knew that he travelled outside India.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these NBA stars, and no others? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Oscar Robertson, and Nate Thurmond. Each had a jersey number retired by two separate NBA teams--three, in Chamberlain's case. In Jordan and Maravich's cases, the numbers were retired by a second team they never even played for!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Ken Jennings Tuesday Trivia - June 3
THIS WEEK'S QUIZ
1. Maltese, Westie, and Bichon Frise dog breeds all share what color of coat? White. At least, that is the color of Bear's coat.
2. What movie begins with a screen showing the dictionary definition of the word "replicant"? sounds to me like Blade Runner
3. What island is home to Europe's largest volcano? Mt. Etna?? Sicily?
4. The tiny Yorkshire village of Loxley is most famous as the birthplace of what legendary figure? Robin of Loxley (call me Hood. Robin Hood).
5. What rock star recently recorded a new album with his old band Mudcrutch, which broke up in 1975? Tom Petty. I have the album and like it a lot.
6. In 1997, at South Africa's Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, Nelson Mandela awarded a posthumous honor on what other activist? posthumous? I guess Steven Biko
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these NBA stars, and no others? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Oscar Robertson, and Nate Thurmond.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. In 1866, what Scottish nobleman co-founded the Amateur Athletic Club, an influential sponsor of London boxing matches? John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, helped give boxing his namesake rules. correct
2. The 11th-highest grossing movie of 1984 and the fourth-highest grossing movie of 1985 both had what color in their titles? The movies are Purple Rain and The Color Purple, respectively. The Purple Rose of Cairo came out in 1985 too, but made a much smaller box office splash. correct
3. Benjamin D. Foulois led the first air combat mission in U.S. history, while searching for what man? Pancho Villa, on the run in Mexico. correct
4. What do Americans call the asterism that's known as the Plough in Britain? The Big Dipper. (An asterism is any grouping of stars not a constellation.) correct
5. What body of water is home to the Uros Indians, who live on 42 floating reed islands on its surface? A few hundred Uros still live on islands floating on the surface of South America's Lake Titicaca. right continent, wrong body of water
6. Hollywood couple Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clarke met while he was playing her boss on what TV show? Clarke played Nina Meyers and Berkeley her boss, George Mason, on 24. had no idea on this one
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, and no others? Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France (six times), Greece (five times), Italy (13 times), Lebanon, Libya, Spain, Syria, Turkey (four times), and the U.K. (13 times)? A real toughie, as intended. These are the modern-day countries where Shakespeare set his plays, as near as we can tell. (Modern Croatia is where Illyria, the setting for Twelfth Night, is centered, for example, and The Winter's Tale is set partially in Bohemia--the Czech Republic, today--though Shakespeare famously gave the landlocked kingdom a seacoast!) Yes, this was tough.
1. Maltese, Westie, and Bichon Frise dog breeds all share what color of coat? White. At least, that is the color of Bear's coat.
2. What movie begins with a screen showing the dictionary definition of the word "replicant"? sounds to me like Blade Runner
3. What island is home to Europe's largest volcano? Mt. Etna?? Sicily?
4. The tiny Yorkshire village of Loxley is most famous as the birthplace of what legendary figure? Robin of Loxley (call me Hood. Robin Hood).
5. What rock star recently recorded a new album with his old band Mudcrutch, which broke up in 1975? Tom Petty. I have the album and like it a lot.
6. In 1997, at South Africa's Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, Nelson Mandela awarded a posthumous honor on what other activist? posthumous? I guess Steven Biko
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these NBA stars, and no others? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler, Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe, Oscar Robertson, and Nate Thurmond.
LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. In 1866, what Scottish nobleman co-founded the Amateur Athletic Club, an influential sponsor of London boxing matches? John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, helped give boxing his namesake rules. correct
2. The 11th-highest grossing movie of 1984 and the fourth-highest grossing movie of 1985 both had what color in their titles? The movies are Purple Rain and The Color Purple, respectively. The Purple Rose of Cairo came out in 1985 too, but made a much smaller box office splash. correct
3. Benjamin D. Foulois led the first air combat mission in U.S. history, while searching for what man? Pancho Villa, on the run in Mexico. correct
4. What do Americans call the asterism that's known as the Plough in Britain? The Big Dipper. (An asterism is any grouping of stars not a constellation.) correct
5. What body of water is home to the Uros Indians, who live on 42 floating reed islands on its surface? A few hundred Uros still live on islands floating on the surface of South America's Lake Titicaca. right continent, wrong body of water
6. Hollywood couple Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clarke met while he was playing her boss on what TV show? Clarke played Nina Meyers and Berkeley her boss, George Mason, on 24. had no idea on this one
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, and no others? Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France (six times), Greece (five times), Italy (13 times), Lebanon, Libya, Spain, Syria, Turkey (four times), and the U.K. (13 times)? A real toughie, as intended. These are the modern-day countries where Shakespeare set his plays, as near as we can tell. (Modern Croatia is where Illyria, the setting for Twelfth Night, is centered, for example, and The Winter's Tale is set partially in Bohemia--the Czech Republic, today--though Shakespeare famously gave the landlocked kingdom a seacoast!) Yes, this was tough.
