Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Who lives at the famous address 24 Sussex Drive? I note that the question is written in present tense. Is this Barack Obama's current address in Chicago?
2. What TV show has produced soundtrack albums like 2008's Beyond Hamsterdam, and has a cast that includes Grammy-winning musicians Steve Earle and Method Man? I know this because I am such a big Steve Earle fan. The Wire.
3. What's the result of raising any positive or negative number to the zero-th power? it becomes equal to 1
4. What did Alexei Pajitnov develop on an Elektronika 60 in 1985, though he never saw a penny because the Soviet Academy of Sciences owned the rights? perhaps a video game of some type? If so, I have no idea. 1985 was too late for Pacman. I only know Atari or Japanese video games.
5. What's the only U.S. state whose entire southern border is formed by a namesake river? sounds like Ohio to me
6. What futuristic premise was first portrayed on film in the 1972 James Earl Jones vehicle The Man? a black man becoming president of the US
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these works of literature? Bless Me Ultima, "The Dead," Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Far from the Madding Crowd, Fences, Go Tell It on the Mountain, The Man Who Was Thursday, and--sort of--The Satanic Verses? If you have to know anything about these works, I'm out. I have not read a single one. But thanks to wikipedia plot descriptions, I learned that each has a character named Gabriel.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Followers of the "Quiverfull" movement believe in having many what? Children--it's an Evangelical Christian reference to Psalm 127. (Watching the 18-child Duggar family on TV might convince you that these folks have been, uh, a little overzealous in their reading of Psalm 127, but we encourage you, as always, not to take family-planning advice from a weekly trivia quiz. Please consult your doctor.) nope
2. What 1980 drum machine from Roland has been immortalized in the title of Kanye West's latest album? The TR-808 is namechecked in the title of Kanye's 808s & Heartbreak--even though the Roland product never included any of that creepy pitch-correction software that Kanye is so into now. I guess so
3. "Wild Bill" Donovan is known as the "father" of what U.S. government agency? The Central Intelligence Agency--Bill Donovan led the Office of Strategic Services, a CIA precursor, during World War II. 0 for 3
4. Until 1987, Goodyear blimps were always named in honor of the winners of what sports event? All the American-based blimps were named for America's Cup-winning yachts until the Sprit of Akron broke the tradition in 1987. that is counter-intuitive
5. What's the only country in the world that bans women from driving? Saudi Arabia. hooray! one correct this week
6. What disease takes its name from the same Greek root as a type of coal, for the coal-black lesions it produces? "Anthrax" and "anthracite" share the same root. Do you think Scott Ian knows this? who is Scott Ian?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these celebrities? Saffron Burrows, David Denby, Carrie Fisher, Jonathan Larson, Steve Martin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Busta Rhymes, and Rudolph Valentino. Each had a spouse or partner leave them to, uh, bat for the other team--that is, begin a same-sex relationship shortly thereafter. But I bet Steve Martin doesn't still think of Anne Heche as "the one that got away." Ken, where did this question come from? I am glad that I don't know a single spouse you are talking about here.