Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What two letters besides the 'H' are sometimes eccentrically capitalized in spelling the name of Jada Pinkett Smith's TV series Hawthorne? The answer is probably NOT the "h" and the "o." I believe that her character is a nurse, so I will say "r" and "n."
2. Next month, HarperCollins will print 1.5 million copies of Going Rogue: An American Life, a memoir by whom? Sarah Palin
3. The core of what rock band was born when Paul Hewson met Dave Evans in 1976? Paul "Bono" Hewson ---> U2
4. Which moon of the solar system--its planet's largest--is named for the Greek god of fear? Titan was not the Greek god of fear. I do not recognize Phobos as a Greek god, but it is a moon. And "phobia" fits the "fear" part of the clue.
5. The Columbus Crew are vying for their second consecutive title in what sports league? Major League Soccer
6. Who was transported using a "Black Maria"? "Who" implies that the answer is a person. Is this a Halloween question, like for Vlad the Impaler?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these states and no others? Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington. State questions are brutal because there are so many areas to explore. Is there a common thread in the state capitals - Atlanta, Augusta, Jackson, Columbus, Columbia, Olympia?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who or what might you find inside a Habitrail? Habitrails are, like the Internet, a vast network of tubes. They're those clear tubes that gerbils and the like can run around in. We accepted anything having to do with tiny, unhygienic pets. correct
2. Give the full name of the international nonprofit that forced a pro wrestling outfit to change its name in 2002. That cute little panda in the World Wildlife Fund (or World Wide Fund for Nature) logo is tougher than it looks: it took out Hulk Hogan! That's why the WWF is now the WWE. correct
3. Musicians Sally and Ben Taylor are the children of what two chart-topping singer-songwriters? James Taylor and Carly Simon, who were married from 1972 to 1983. Now we know the result of lots and lots of marijuana in utero: it produces folksingers! correct
4. What hit TV show did David Shore and Paul Attanasio create after enjoying Lisa Sanders' "Diagnosis" columns in The New York Times? Those columns were all about exciting and exotic medical diagnosis stories, and House was their bastard stepchild. correct
5. What's the world's largest nation that's all a single time zone? Despite spanning five theoretical time zones, China is all on Beijing time by government edict. Okay, Communism, maybe you've beaten jetlag. But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow. correct
6. Name either of the two active NBA players who have led their team in all five major stats--points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals--in a season. As B-ball fans know, this is pretty damn hard to do, but Kevin Garnett and LeBron James have both managed. Dave Cowens and Scottie Pippen are the only two other names on this list, though steals weren't officially counted by the NBA until the mid-1970s. Whew! Alex and I both got one.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? Belle de Jour, Blowup, Dog Day Afternoon, Executive Suite, Interiors, Network, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, Paranormal Activity, Rachel Getting Married, Rear Window. Weirdly, these movies all have no score! The only music on the soundtrack, if any, is "diegetic"...that is, it's audible within the world of the movie, via stereos and live singers and so forth. I guess this was only unusual after the silent era...for the first few decades of film, EVERY movie fit this category! I guess that I am intrigued by the answer, but there was no way in heck that I was going to come up with that.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Who or what might you find inside a Habitrail? a gerbil
2. Give the full name of the international nonprofit that forced a pro wrestling outfit to change its name in 2002. World Wildlife Foundation (not to be confused with the World Wrestling Federation)
3. Musicians Sally and Ben Taylor are the children of what two chart-topping singer-songwriters? James Taylor and Carly Simon
4. What hit TV show did David Shore and Paul Attanasio create after enjoying Lisa Sanders' "Diagnosis" columns in The New York Times? I don't know Lisa Sanders or her columns. But is this the set up for House?
5. What's the world's largest nation that's all a single time zone? China
6. Name either of the two active NBA players who have led their team in all five major stats--points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals--in a season. Wow. We are talking about multi-talented players. It is really saying something to lead in both rebounds and assists. This is very uncommon. The first names that come to mind - Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Grant Hill, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter. Do I get two guesses? I will go with Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? Belle de Jour, Blowup, Dog Day Afternoon, Executive Suite, Interiors, Network, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, Paranormal Activity, Rachel Getting Married, Rear Window. Something about photography? Of these, I have only seen Rear Window.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The American one has been around for 220 years, but the British one met for the very first time one week ago, because of a suspected Syrian terrorist. What name is shared by these bodies? This was the first case heard by the U.K.'s brand-spanking-new Supreme Court. Good job, Britain! Why, maybe you'll even have a constitution one of these days. correct
2. What part of the body does a "reflexologist" most commonly focus on? Reflexology is the idea that pressure on the soles of the feet (and much less commonly the hands and ears) can affect every other part of the body. Sure, it's totally kooky, but aaah, foot massage. Who can complain about that? correct
3. What nickname has the media given to Nadya Suleyman? She's Octomom! But she already had six kids before her latest pregnancy, so maybe she should more accurately be called Tetradecamom. correct
4. What two U.S. animated TV hits have produced spin-off soundtrack CDs called "The Yellow Album"? SpongeBob SquarePants recorded the most recent Yellow Album, but the lame Beatles "joke" in its title is a retread...the Simpsons had got there a decade earlier. correct
5. A church in Daresbury, England has an odd stained-glass window featuring a rabbit, dodo, and a lizard, because what man was born there in 1832 while his father was parson there? The white rabbit, the dodo, and Bill the lizard are all characters in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. correct. But I did not previously know Bill the Lizard.
6. What nation's recent naming led to Greek complaints that Greece's heritage was being compromised by the name? Greece is a little pissed about the "Republic of Macedonia," since Macedonia was and is a large region of Greece. Get over it, Greece. It's not like Americans are all burned up about "Baja California." And what about "Omaha Beach"? That's in FRANCE! good job, Alex
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Osama bin Laden, John Ehrlichman, Davis Love III, Tracy Nelson, Philip Pullman, Priscilla Presley, Gabrielle Reece, and Cokie Roberts. They all starred in The Father Dowling Mysteries on ABC in the late 1980s. Oh, wait. That wasn't Osama bin Laden. That was Tom Bosley. I always get those guys confused. The real answer is a sad one: they each lost their father in a plane crash. Weirdly, I had no idea that Cokie Roberts was Hale Boggs' daughter until I wrote this question. correct!

I have recently learned of Godwin's Law - "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." It certainly can be adapted into any number of variations to apply to discussions today about current events. And it is impressive how often Godwin's Law proves to be true.

This neat video applies Godwin's Law to one of the more absurd things I have read - the Conservapedia.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The American one has been around for 220 years, but the British one met for the very first time one week ago, because of a suspected Syrian terrorist. What name is shared by these bodies? 220 years ---> 1789. An institution established at the start of the nation. Supreme Court?
2. What part of the body does a "reflexologist" most commonly focus on? the foot
3. What nickname has the media given to Nadya Suleyman? OctoMom
4. What two U.S. animated TV hits have produced spin-off soundtrack CDs called "The Yellow Album"? Yellow makes me think of The Simpsons and SpongeBob
5. A church in Daresbury, England has an odd stained-glass window featuring a rabbit, dodo, and a lizard, because what man was born there in 1832 while his father was parson there? Dodo, White Rabbit ---> Charles Dodgson or Lewis Carroll. Not sure about the lizard unless this is the Jabberwock.
6. What nation's recent naming led to Greek complaints that Greece's heritage was being compromised by the name? How recent is "recent"? Sometimes for KJ this could be within the last 10-20 years. What are new nations or nations with new names? Eritrea, Myanmar, the Russian republics. Greece is the Hellenic Republic. Something that sounds like Hellas?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Osama bin Laden, John Ehrlichman, Davis Love III, Tracy Nelson, Philip Pullman, Priscilla Presley, Gabrielle Reece, and Cokie Roberts. I think I have found the common element - they all had parents who died in plane crashes. Hale Boggs (Roberts' dad) is presumed to have perished in a plane crash though they never found the plane.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The U.S., Liberia, and Myanmar are the only three nations that have not officially adopted what? The metric system! It's great to be in such lofty company, isn't it? Think how many kilodays it's been since the rest of the world got on the SI bandwagon! correct
2. Name either one of the two former People Sexiest Men Alive who are no longer, uh, alive. RIP JFK Jr.; RIP Patrick Swayze. Now he is truly...like the wind. correct
3. What kind of animal travels in pods? Any kind of cetacean would have done here: whales, dolphins, etc. Or a human raised by a family of whales. correct
4. What popular novel claims to be an abridgment of a 19th-century work by one "S. Morgenstern"? That's the device William Goldman used in The Princess Bride. Which leads many readers to annoy their local librarian or bookstore owner asking for "the unabridged version." People, please. THERE ISN'T ONE. as previously discussed, we did not like this question very much. You know it or you don't. We did not know it.
5. What was the last continent to host two consecutive Summer Olympics? London 1948 and Helsinki 1952: both in Europe. Madrid was hoping to repeat this feat by succeeding London in 2016, but it didn't work out that way. Blame it on Rio. correct
6. What 1982 song hit #56 on the pop charts when the New Power Generation re-recorded it at the turn of the millennium? This was a little easier if you know that the New Power Generation backed up Prince. The song is "1999." correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these world cities? Hanoi, Vietnam; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jinan, China; Khartoum, Sudan; Kimberley, South Africa; Shreveport, Louisiana; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tacoma, Washington; and Winnipeg, Manitoba? All these cities lie on or near to a river with a colorful name: Red, Orange, Yellow, White, Green, etc. Weirdly, there's no "Blue River" on the list, apart from the Blue Nile in Khartoum. You'd think blue would be to go-to color for naming a river, right? correct! Still not sure the name of St. Petersburg's color river unless Neva translates to a color.

Man, if this doesn't fire you up, nothing will. I am ready to lace up my skates and take on the Soviets. We shut them down because we can! This is your time. This is your night.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The U.S., Liberia, and Myanmar are the only three nations that have not officially adopted what? my first thought is a treaty like the Kyoto Agreement or the Land Mine Ban. Something human rights oriented perhaps. But then I thought of something else - the metric system.
2. Name either one of the two former People Sexiest Men Alive who are no longer, uh, alive. Patrick Swayze is probably one of them
3. What kind of animal travels in pods? whales
4. What popular novel claims to be an abridgment of a 19th-century work by one "S. Morgenstern"? So the novel would be set in the 19th century. Is this Frankenstein? S. Morgenstern is not helping me much. Perhaps I am missing an obvious clue.
5. What was the last continent to host two consecutive Summer Olympics? Europe (1948 London and 1952 Helsinki)
6. What 1982 song hit #56 on the pop charts when the New Power Generation re-recorded it at the turn of the millennium? turn of the millennium ---> 1999 by Prince
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these world cities? Hanoi, Vietnam; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jinan, China; Khartoum, Sudan; Kimberley, South Africa; Shreveport, Louisiana; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tacoma, Washington; and Winnipeg, Manitoba? Located on a river with a color in its name. Red River, White River, Yellow River, White Nile/Blue Nile, Orange River, Neva??, Puyallup River (but it appears that the White River flows into the Puyallup), Red River

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who made her film debut as seven-year-old "Tosh" in the 1982 Jon Voight vehicle Lookin' to Get Out? This was Voight's daughter Angelina Voight, today better known as "Angelina Jolie." She wouldn't make another film for over a decade. correct
2. Very large factorial numbers always end with a string of what repeated digit? You get a factorial of a number by multiplying it consecutively by every smaller integer. 5! = 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120. The more times you multiply, you get lots of 5's and 2's and 0's, which means the final product will end with a long run of zeroes. I'm sorry, there's not usually this much math on the quiz.
3. On Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, puppet neighbors X and Henrietta were created as a reference to the best-known poem of what famous Victorian? X is an owl and Henrietta is a pussycat, so their (hopefully asexual) pairing is a nod to Edward Lear's famous, runcible poem. I apologize to those of you from the "Captain Kangaroo" generation who know nothing of this "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" I speak of. But you missed out on "Purple Panda." correct
4. What singer has been nicknamed the "Red Headed Stranger" since the debut of his hit album of that name? That was Willie Nelson. Weirdly, I always thought "Red Headed Stranger" was a euphemism for someone's period. Like, "Oooh, I'm getting my little visit from the 'Red Headed Stranger' this week!" correct
5. Where are you visiting if you're perusing the "columbarium"? A columbarium is a wall where urns of cremated people are kept, so you're probably in a church or a cemetery or something. Or the Addams Family house or something. Snap snap. how about that. I like learning useful words like columbarium and defenestration.
6. What country was ruled by the Sun King from 1643 all the way until 1715? Louis XIV, who ruled for a record 72 years, was "le Roi Soleil" of France. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these businesses/brands? ABC, Adidas, Amazon, AT&T, BP, Citibank, Hewlett-Packard, Macy's, Nickelodeon, Pepsi, UPS, Xerox. They all have all-lower-case logos...many of them adopted recently (Nickelodeon, Pepsi, Xerox). All-lower-case must be the hip new thing. I looked at the logos but this characteristic did not jump out at me. A reasonable question, though I would not call this distinction "unusual."