Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What kind of animal did actress Heather DeLoach dress as in the 1992 video for Blind Melon's "No Rain"? who is Heather DeLoach? Who is Blind Melon? what is this song? This question might make as much sense if written in Aramaic. Still let's think about this. Is 1992 a clue? Something during the election? "that giant sucking sound you hear . . . "
2. According to Herodotus, how many Spartans held the pass at the ancient battle of Thermopylae? Hollywood tells us there were 300
3. What religion's practitioners pray to spirits called Loa? Loa sounds Hawaiian or Polynesian. What religion would they practice?
4. What children's TV hit is produced by United Plankton Pictures, Inc.? SpongeBob. Happy 10th birthday!
5. When does a white shirt with red polka dots indicate the "King of the Mountains"? during the Tour de France
6. What appropriately named metal makes rubies red and emeralds green? the clue is in the name which led me to think of chromium. Isn't the root for that from the Greek for "color"?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these non-musical plays? The Diary of Anne Frank, The Dog Beneath the Skin, The Front Page, Inherit the Wind, Life with Father, The Male Animal, The Two Noble Kinsmen, You Can't Take It with You.

LAST WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Manuel Quezon was a founding father and early president of what nation? Quezon City, named for Presidente Manuel, is a former capital of the Philippines. correct
2. The novels Gadsby: Champion of Youth (1939, Ernest Vincent Wright) and La Disparition (Georges Perec, 1969) are notable for not containing a single what? Believe it or not, neither contains a single letter 'E'. Um, I mean, "Though you may doubt it, both books lack any visitation from our writing plan's fifth symbol." correct or rather "right"
3. Duncan Zowie Jones, the director of the new film Moon, is the son of what musician? David Jones, a.k.a. David Bowie, named his first son "Zowie Bowie." correct
4. What part of your car contains a solution of about 35% sulfuric acid? That's why you probably shouldn't mess with your battery unless you know what you're doing. correct
5. Who was left off the fan-voted All-Star roster this season, ending his Major League-leading streak of 11 straight All-Star Games? For some reason, the fans abruptly turned on Manny Ramirez. Weird, right? correct
6. What animal is the mascot for a Klondike Bar? A polar bear. Bonus question: what would YOU do for a Klondike Bar? Because I would commit genocide. what about ursacide (Shakespeare - "the first thing we do let's kill all the bears.") correct.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these Disney animated films, and (in my best judgment) no others? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, The Great Mouse Detective, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Up. These are all the cartoons where the villain falls to his or her death, in stereotypical Disney fashion. There are some iffy cases on both sides, but I feel pretty good about my list. Dissenters may be subject to being pushed screaming off a cliff until they're lost in the clouds below. I cannot recall a single one of the villain deaths in these movies. The Evil Queen dies in Snow White? No memory of that at all.