Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What article of clothing would you put on using a "double Windsor"? a necktie. I can actually tie a pretty sharp four-in-hand knot.
2. What did Thich Quang Duc do on June 11, 1963 that made worldwide headlines? I believe he is the monk who set himself on fire
3. How many U.S. states border both the Hawkeye State and the Buckeye State? Iowa borders Illinois on the east and Missouri on the south. Ohio borders Indiana on the west and Kentucky on the south. I don't think that the Hawkeye State and the Buckeye State border any states in common.
4. What 1956 Leonard Bernstein operetta includes the songs "Westphalia," "The Best of All Possible Worlds," and "Make Our Garden Grow"? The Best of All Possible Worlds --> Candide
5. In 1979, what publication first began using its uniquely stippled dot-drawings, called "hedcuts"? Wall Street Journal
6. What musician was responsible for the recent controversy that some news outlets dubbed "Imma-Let-You-Finish-Gate"? is this a reference to Kanye West
7. What's the significance of this list of countries, arranged in this order? Jamaica, Turkey, the U.S., the Bahamas, Japan, Switzerland, the U.S. this appears to be a ranking of some kind since order is involved. Turkey is an odd country along with the others.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The marketplace of Altdorf, Switzerland, features a bronze statue of what local man, accompanied by his son Walter and a stone inscribed "1307"? November 18, 1307 was supposedly the date when William Tell shot an apple off Walter's head on that very spot. Of course, there's no real evidence that Tell actually existed, but it's a nice statue anyway. correct
2. The name of Motorola's much-hyped new phone has been licensed, with permission, from what famous Hollywood director-producer? The new would-be iPhone-killer is the "Droid," so George Lucas had to sign off on the campaign. Finally, that guy will be making a little money. Good to hear. I continue to miss the hype. Not sure that I have seen an ad for this yet. Interesting that Lucas has a copyright on "droid" which would seem to be a common word.
3. Sihanoukville is the fourth largest city in what nation? Prince Sihanouk was, until recently, king of Cambodia. doh!
4. In the opening of his 1960s TV show, Dick Van Dyke would fall (or nearly fall) over what piece of furniture? It was an ottoman. Or "hassock," a word my wife always makes fun of me for using. "What's a hassock? It's called an OTTOMAN!" Yes, dear. correct
5. From 1980 to 1987, the world's #1-ranked woman in tennis was always an American, with what two players repeatedly trading off? Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova dominated the pre-Graf '80s, and Martina had been stripped of her Czechoslovakian citizenship way back in 1975. correct
6. What modern company is descended from the "Automatic Binding Bricks" first sold by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1949? Binding bricks + Scandinavian name = Lego! Or "Legos," with the plural, as we ignorant Americans like to say, much to the chagrin of Lego's high-priced intellectual property lawyers. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these songs? "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem, "Cornerstone" by Arctic Monkeys, "Everything" by Alanis Morrisette, "No Surprises" by Radiohead, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Dylan, "Undone (The Sweater Song)" by Weezer, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, "Yellow" by Coldplay. The music video for each of these songs was shot as one continuous take for the entire video. (Or in a few cases, I gather, was at least edited to appear as such. I doubt Alanis really cut her hair in real time for the "Everything" video. Sort of hard to get a second take.) Good call, kmac!