Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Saffir-Simpson scale assigns the traditional five categories to what? hurricanes
2. British king George I, as well as most of the Plantagenets, including Richard the Lionheart, were notable for not being able to do what? work a tv remote control. Seriously, it must have something to do with passing on their legacy.
3. The title of the Mark David Chapman film Chapter 27 refers to an imaginary final chapter of what novel? Mark Chapman shot John Lennon. But what novel is associated with that event?
4. Who is on pace to become the world's first billionaire athlete by 2010? Eldrick "Tiger" Woods
5. Artists traditionally orient their studios so that windows and skylights face which direction?
6. What singer claims that she took her stage name as a salute to Steve Buscemi's performance in Reservoir Dogs? all of the characters in Reservoir Dogs have names like Mr. Brown, Mr. White, etc. Hmmm.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. states, and no others? Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North and South Dakota, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and sort of Oregon?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What item are there two of in British cricket and six of in American croquet? Wickets. correct
2. Name two of the four "majority-minority" U.S. states--states in which less than half the population is non-Hispanic white. Hawaii, of course, has never been majority-white. California, New Mexico, and Texas are the other three. aargh. I thought Arizona, but it is NewMexico.
3. Despite their names, Daniel Florence O'Leary and Bernardo O'Higgins are heroes on what continent? Both were among the military liberators of South America. Many Irish veterans of the Napoleonic Wars joined South American armies when peace came to Europe in the early 19th century. who knew?
4. What TV host gives out the annual "Fierce Awards"? Tyra Banks is the "fierce" media empire-builder in question. A lucky guess.
5. How many Bennet sisters are there in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Five: to quote Jane Austen, "the hot one, the princess, the nerd, the sidekick, and the slut." Or was that The Breakfast Club? I always get those confused. An incorrect guess.
6. The most famous tree in California's White Mountains bristlecone pine forest is named for what biblical figure? These bristlecones are the world's oldest living things; this particular 4,800-year-old tree is therefore called "Methuselah" correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these performers? Phil Hartman, Don Knotts, Roddy McDowall, Zero Mostel, Paul Newman, John Ritter, Jimmy Stewart, Orson Welles. The final movie role of all these late stars was a voice performance in an animated film. RIP Paul Newman. Jimmy Stewart, Zero Mostel, John Ritter - those notable voice actors.