Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Italian "marasca" is a wild, bitter variety of what fruit? the first fruit that comes to mind is cherry. Marasca sounds like maraschino.
2. What's the only U.S. state ever to change its two-letter postal abbreviation, to avoid confusion with a Canadian maritime province? perhaps Nebraska (NE) to avoid confusion with New Brunswick
3. Bulldogging and barrel racing are competitions in what sport? rodeo
4. The "Sons of the Desert" are the international fan club of what famed movie pair? is this Laurel and Hardy? Steve F would know for sure
5. What did Luxembourg do first, on September 1, 2006, that the U.S. finally did on June 12, 2009, at midnight Eastern? cut over from analog to digital tv signals to free up the analog spectrum
6. "Nevemore" is the last word of the final eleven stanzas of what famous poem? The Raven
7. What unusual distinction is or was shared by all these famous people? Marlon Brando, Richard Branson, Bjorn Borg, David Copperfield, Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, Dean Kamen, Andrew Wyeth.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What number appears in the title of two of the last five Best Picture Oscar winners? The movies are Million Dollar Baby and Slumdog Millionaire, if that helps. Gone with the Wind has "1" in it, and The Best Years of Our Lives has "4" in it, but that has nothing to do with the question. correct
2. What's the only inanimate object to get a verse in "The Farmer in the Dell"? The cheese stands alone. correct
3. The historical "Orange Free State" is found in what modern-day country? The Orange River makes up much of the border of South Africa. correct
4. What shoulder condition related to tennis elbow and first diagnosed in 2007 is one of the only words in English to contain a triple letter? That would be Wiiitis, so dubbed in the New England Journal of Medicine a couple years ago, a video game condition caused by too much Wii Tennis. It seems evident when you see the answer, but it seemed cryptic unti then. I thought it could have been re-written to help players get it. "What joint condition, first diagnosed in 2007, has a triple letter and is caused by overuse of a video game?"
5. Derailleur systems are the "gears" on what type of device? A derailleur is the system that includes the gears (sprockets, actually) on a bicycle. I just found out this week that the classic Cream album Disraeli Gears is named for a roadie's mispronunciation of the word "derailleur." Cool, right? correct
6. What 1981 song has been recently revived twice as a hit, once on the last episode of The Sopranos, and once on the first episode of Glee? Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is more popular today than it ever was! For people like me who preferred Journey as a punchline, this is a demoralizing situation. correct
7. What pair of closely related distinctions is shared by these U.S. presidents, and no others? Teddy Roosevelt, Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, and Nixon on the one hand, and McKinley, Coolidge, and Clinton on the other? This was tough. The first five had Secretaries of State win a Nobel Peace Prize, and the last three had Vice Presidents win that award. (We accepted more general answers like "Cabinet members who won Nobel Prizes.") My thinking was not in the ballpark on this one.