Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. "Meerschaum" and "corncob" are two popular types of what item? pipes. C'mon, Ken. How about delving a little deeper into this pastime? How about a question about latakia and perique?
2. Whose last book was Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, which became a posthumous science bestseller in 1997? Carl Sagan
3. Who is the first Barbadian ever to win a Grammy Award? was Harry Belafonte from Barbados?
4. What's the name of the official magazine of Canada's National History Society, to be renamed "Canada's History" in March because spam filters tend to block the current title? No idea. Was this a yahoo news story that he read? Lord, you can be really creative about what the spam filters might not like. I wonder if it is an offensive acronym, something like Canada's U-something National Treasures.
5. In 1957, at Runnymede, Surrey, the American Bar Association erected a monument to commemorate what? the signing of the Magna Carta
6. What figure from Greek myth is the namesake of a popular Internet radio service as well as the setting of the film Avatar? have not seen the movie yet, but Sirius is a popular Internet radio service. Wait - it's Pandora. Is that a radio service or a music service?
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these teams in the four major North American professional sports, listed in this order? Detroit Lions, Texas Rangers, New Orleans Saints, Washington Nationals, L.A. Clippers, Phoenix Coyotes, Denver Nuggets, Seattle Mariners, New Orleans Hornets, San Jose Sharks. Finally a Q7 where I recognize a pattern. These are all sad sack teams (or continuations of sad sack franchises like the Montreal Expos and the Washington Senators and the Buffalo Braves). I believe that these are the most frustrated teams in sports, having been in their current league the longest without playing for a championship (the Lions won several NFL championships but they were long before the 1970 merger with the AFL). Wonder if KJ meant to remove the Saints.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What historic African city is home today to neighborhood called the "Hannibal district"? Hannibal (aka "the elephant guy") was from Carthage, so we accepted either that answer, or Tunis, the modern metropolis of which Carthage is now just a suburb. correct
2. What have "Warriors in Pink" survived? Breast cancer, according to the omnipresent marketing campaign. correct
3. Of the four Olympic track and field "throwing" events, what's the only one that's not part of the modern decathlon? The discus, javelin, and shot put are all decathlon events, leaving only the lowly hammer throw. Please, hammer, don't hurt 'em. correct
4. What TV sitcom won three straight Outstanding Lead Actress Emmys in the 1980s...for three different actresses? The Golden Girls is the only show ever to accomplish this feat. In fact, the show's fourth star, Estelle Getty, won a Supporting Actress Emmy in 1988, meaning that the show's entire cast earned Emmys within that three-year span. correct
5. What plant does copra come from? Copra, the meal that is a staple of many tropical diets, is dried coconut meat. according to wikipedia, copra is primarily used to extract coconut oil and as an animal feed. It also can spontaneously combust. Sounds like a great basis for a diet.
6. What was the last name of Jack Donovan, the Universal Studios sound editor who revolutionized the art of post-recording environmental sound effects in movies? Today's "Foley artists," who add the footstep sounds and whatnot to modern movies, are named for Jack Donovan Foley. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these musical acts, joined in 2008 by Coldplay and Fleet Foxes? Alice Cooper, Crash Test Dummies, Marvin Gaye, Guns N' Roses, New Order, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Pogues, Procul Harum. Each released an album that used a classic fine-art painting as its cover. Coldplay's Delacroix homage and Fleet Foxes' use of Breughel recently joined those Latour flowers on the Power, Corruption, & Lies cover, the Winslow Homer painting on Southern Accents, and so forth. Did you know that the Use Your Illusion covers by G&R are details from Raphael's The School of Athens? Hey, me neither. KJ, I looked at all of the New Order albums in Allmusic. Which one had a cover that used a fine-art painting?

This past weekend, I was thinking of absent friends and family. It's just that time of year.

Naturally, that led me to music and no one wrote better songs about mortality and morbidity than Warren Zevon (God rest his soul). In researching him, I learned about a song that he had co-written with Mitch Albom about 10 years ago. This led me to this live recording of Hit Somebody. The performance and the audience reaction/participation made me smile. It's a hockey song, but also a metaphor for life. Just about all of us get at least one shot in life and if we are lucky the red light flashes. Like the people of Philadelphia, I was singing along.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What historic African city is home today to neighborhood called the "Hannibal district"?
Carthage
2. What have "Warriors in Pink" survived? breast cancer
3. Of the four Olympic track and field "throwing" events, what's the only one that's not part of the modern decathlon? hammer throw. The decathlon includes javelin, shot and discus.
4. What TV sitcom won three straight Outstanding Lead Actress Emmys in the 1980s...for three different actresses? a guess - Golden Girls. That is one tv show that will almost certainly NOT inspire a big screen version.
5. What plant does copra come from? is that a new clothing material? I seem to recall reading a label on a shirt recently that was partly made of copra. Is this something made from hemp?
6. What was the last name of Jack Donovan, the Universal Studios sound editor who revolutionized the art of post-recording environmental sound effects in movies? I guess it is not Donovan. Sound effects guys are known as Foley artists. So I would say Foley.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these musical acts, joined in 2008 by Coldplay and Fleet Foxes? Alice Cooper, Crash Test Dummies, Marvin Gaye, Guns N' Roses, New Order, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Pogues, Procul Harum. Is every Q7 actors/performers, states, countries or bands?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The storied "Mosquito Coast" makes up the entire east coast of what nation? I'd seen the movie, even read part of the book, and still wasn't sure. The Mosquito Coast is the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, and is named for a local Indian tribes, not for bugs. correct
2. What common pastime are you enjoying if you have a "verso" and a "recto" in front of you? The verso is the left-hand page of a book or other bound publication; the recto is the facing right-hand one. If you have both open in front of you, you're reading. What's your problem, was there nothing good on TV? correct
3. Who starred in both of the two most successful TV series ever (U.S., prime time, non-anthology) whose titles begin with the letter 'U'? A cool coincidence: Robert Stack was in both Unsolved Mysteries and The Untouchables (but not The U.S. Steel Hour, hence the "non-anthology" hedge). correct
4. How many carats is pure gold? Pure gold is 24k. So was the memory in my first computer, I think. correct
5. What "Paris of the East," which the AP called the "world's most dangerous city" in the 1980s, was The New York Times' #1-ranked place to visit in 2009? Beirut is hip now. Note to quiz writers - this is a good question. Just asking "What was the NYT #1 ranked place to visit in 2009?" is tough. But when you add the two other clues, you gives players help that they can use to guess. Even if they get it wrong (as I did), they can think "You know, I still learned something interesting."
6. What hip-hop star did then-candidate Barack Obama reference when he mimed "brushing the dirt" off his shoulders at a 2008 campaign event? "He has some Jay-Z on my iPod," a spokesperson said about the shout-out. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these actors? Ed Asner, Clara Bow, Bryan Brown, Jeremy Davies, Katie Holmes, Matt LeBlanc, Malcolm McDowell, Tim Robbins. All starred in movies with two-letter titles. For the record: Up, It, F/X, CQ, Go, Ed, if..., and IQ. What a film festival that would make! I bet nobody in the history of the world has ever watched Ed and if... back to back. Ugh

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The storied "Mosquito Coast" makes up the entire east coast of what nation? I think this is a Central American country. Nicaragua
2. What common pastime are you enjoying if you have a "verso" and a "recto" in front of you? those are terms associated with books. You would be reading.
3. Who starred in both of the two most successful TV series ever (U.S., prime time, non-anthology) whose titles begin with the letter 'U'? Does The Untouchables count? If so, that would be Robert Stack. I can't think of another U tv series.
4. How many carats is pure gold? 24
5. What "Paris of the East," which the AP called the "world's most dangerous city" in the 1980s, was The New York Times' #1-ranked place to visit in 2009? Knew I should have glanced at that year-end Travel section. Paris makes me think of Vietnam so it could be Saigon or Hanoi. But "dangerous" makes me think of Bombay, Calcutta, Jakarta. Hmm. Alex says to go much further west. In the 1980s Teheran or Baghdad may have been the most dangerous city given the war between their countries. But the NY Times would not call Teheran the #1 place to visit. Not when Americans are being arrested left and right. Baghdad?
6. What hip-hop star did then-candidate Barack Obama reference when he mimed "brushing the dirt" off his shoulders at a 2008 campaign event? Sigh. Another hip hop question. I'll guess Jay-Z. He seems classier than Kanye West or P Diddy or 50 Cent who were the others I considered.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these actors? Ed Asner, Clara Bow, Bryan Brown, Jeremy Davies, Katie Holmes, Matt LeBlanc, Malcolm McDowell, Tim Robbins. I wonder if this is something to do with a common thread in characters they have played.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Who began an 1819 sonnet, "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art"? The subject of last year's movie Bright Star was John Keats. If you haven't seen it, it comes out on DVD in a couple weeks. Abbie Cornish is very, very good in it. doh! I went with the wrong poet. Did not make the connection to the movie.
2. The professionals who smuggle people across the U.S.-Mexico border are given what animal name? "Coyotes." Do they cross the border every morning and clock in like the coyote in those Looney Tunes cartoons? "Morning, Sam." "Morning, Ralph." correct
3. Who's the only filmmaker that won two Best Director Oscars during the 1980s? Both were movies about the same historical period. Oliver Stone won for two Vietnam movies: Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. correct
4. What moved from the U.S. to Malaysia in 1998, Malaysia to Taiwan in 2003, and from Taiwan to the United Arab Emirates this week? The world's tallest skyscraper. Well, it didn't actually move. It's not a Transformer. But the tallest-building "title" did. correct
5. Sweet Adelines International is one of the world's largest organization for devotees of what kind of music? "Sweet Adeline" is a barbershop classic. I understand that the Sweet Adelines group referred to in the question is actually for *women* who sing barbershop. I trust they keep their handlebar mustaches assiduously plucked. correct
6. Controversy erupted last month after the Philadelphia Eagles gave a "courage and sportmanship" award to whom? The Eagles' latest recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award is...Michael Vick! Hard to argue with the "courage" part...that guy fought like a dog to get his career back. correct (and I won't comment on the pun)
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Hill Street Blues, Malcolm in the Middle, The PJs, The Rookies, Scrubs, Starsky & Hutch, S.W.A.T., T.J. Hooker. They all take place in unidentified American cities--in other words, the shows went to great lengths never to name their settings. I like to think they're all set in the SAME city, and that T. J. Hooker might someday pull over one of the guys from Scrubs. I was thrown off when I read on wikipedia that the house in Malcolm in the Middle was in Millbrook and that the PJs was set in a Chicago public housing project. Either wikipedia or KJ is wrong. This is not a very good Q7.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. Who began an 1819 sonnet, "Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art"? 1819 seems early for Robert Browning. However 1819 is about right for Shelley.
2. The professionals who smuggle people across the U.S.-Mexico border are given what animal name? coyotes
3. Who's the only filmmaker that won two Best Director Oscars during the 1980s? Both were movies about the same historical period. KJ means "only filmmaker WHO won." I presume that the filmmaker was/is a person, not an object. Same historical period. Chariots of Fire and Ghandi? Is that Richard Attenborough? Don't recall him directing Chariots of Fire. Milos Forman won for Amadeus. Trying to think of other historical award winners from the 80s. Who directed Out of Africa? Platoon was Oliver Stone. Born on the 4th of July was Oliver Stone. Oliver Stone.
4. What moved from the U.S. to Malaysia in 1998, Malaysia to Taiwan in 2003, and from Taiwan to the United Arab Emirates this week? home of the world's tallest building
5. Sweet Adelines International is one of the world's largest organization for devotees of what kind of music? barbership harmony or barbershop quartet
6. Controversy erupted last month after the Philadelphia Eagles gave a "courage and sportmanship" award to whom? I did not hear about this so I can only guess. Ken Jennings! No probably not. Terrell Owens is no longer an Eagle. Among current players, none might generate controversy. Is this someone who is not even a pro athlete, like President Obama? ---> of course! Mike Vick has not played enough for me to think of him. I saw the Eagles play vs. the Chargers earlier this year and completely forgot that Vick was on the roster.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these TV series? Hill Street Blues, Malcolm in the Middle, The PJs, The Rookies, Scrubs, Starsky & Hutch, S.W.A.T., T.J. Hooker.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. In a nod to his middle name, what American general was affectionately nicknamed "Cump" by his men? "Cump" was short for "Tecumseh," the middle name of General Sherman. There is no "p" in Tecumseh.
2. The Billboard Catalog Chart ranks the sale of albums that aren't new releases. During 2009, what two acts each had an unprecedented nine of the top ten albums on a weekly chart? The Beatles and Michael Jackson, though 3/5 dead, each managed to monopolize the Catalog Chart last year. correct
3. Who is now the only man currently hosting one of the three major U.S. network prime time newscasts? I enjoyed all the straight-faced answers of "Katie Couric" (but not "Diane Sawyer," because I like here, so that's just mean). Brian Williams is the lone Y-chromosome of the nightly news now. correct
4. What Persian poet is best known for a thousand "ruba'i" stanzas he wrote around 1100 AD? Those "ruba'i" were collected into his "rubaiyat." (Or "ruby yacht," for Bullwinkle fans.) This is Omar Khayyam, who was, during his lifetime, more famous as a mathematician and astronomer than as a poet. correct
5. Seventeen of the twenty most attended sports or entertainment events in the world are held by what organization? Maybe if more FIFA or NFL fans starting bringing their trailers to the games, they would have had a shot at this, but no, NASCAR fans hold the record. a modern day version of bread and circuses
6. What part of the body can be replaced using gingival grafts? Your gums. Generally a piece of your soft palate is cut out and stretched over the receding gumline. Ick. My dental hygienist always threatens me with the possibility of this surgery someday if I don't switch to softer bristles, or something. I don't know. They have TVs there now so I just tune her out. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these U.S. states, and no others? Alaska, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia? These are all the U.S. states whose largest cities start with the same letter as the state itself, alliterative cities like Anchorage, Honolulu, and beautiful Newark. Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia? That I did not know.

This was a record year for concerts for me. Even if I only count the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival as one show (though I saw seven performers), I attended 24 shows in 2009. Given the AARP eligibles on the list, you could call it the Old Folks Tour. However Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nile, Dave Alvin, John Doe, Alejandro Escovedo, The Edge and Bruce Springsteen can still tear it up. Rock and roll will never die.

1. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue; the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at the Mint
   
2. The Pretenders
3. Billy Joel and Elton John
4. Bruce Springsteen
5. John Doe and Exene Cervenka at the Getty
6. The Decemberists at the Hollywood Palladium
7. Justin Townes Earle
8. Wilco
9. Adele and Chaka Khan at the Hollywood Bowl (Etta James cancelled)
10. Alejandro Escovedo
11. Paul Thorn Band; Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women at the SM Pier
12. Michael Rose; Toots and the Maytals at the Hollywood Bowl (Gregory Isaacs cancelled)
13. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue back at the Mint
    
14. Patti Smith (with special guest band member Flea) at the SM Pier
15. Willie Nile
16. Tom Morello (the Night Watchman); John Prine; Lyle Lovett and His Large Band; Moonalice; Booker T and Drive By Truckers; Rodney Crowell, Aimee Mann
17. Bob Dylan with George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers opening
    
18. The Decemberists at Royce Hall
19. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussein, Edgar Meyer
20. U2
21. Amy Farris Memorial Show at McCabes (Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Stan Ridgway; I See Hawks In LA)
22. Peter Case
23. Dave Alvin and Brian Wilson at Disney Hall
24. John Doe

Favorite new releases

1. Wilco (The Album)
2. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Tell Me What Your Name Is
3. Willie Nile - House Of A Thousand Guitars
   
4. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
5. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
6. Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
7. Gene Taylor Blues Band -Live!!! 605 Boogie!!!

Favorite catalog CDs that I got this year

1. The Hacienda Brothers - Music For Ranch and Town (rest in peace, Chris Gaffney)
2. Green Day - American Idiot
3. The Dead Trees - King of Rosa (the Wilco sound hooked me, but these guys are more eclectic)

Favorite singles not on one of my CDs

1. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You (over a piano solo, "Oh Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in. Are you aware the shape I'm in?" I had to stop what I was doing to listen to this song the first time I heard it.)
   

Favorite moments at a show

1. Shara Worden's first few bars of The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid. Oh. My. God. Her singing on the CD was an inadequate representation of a live performance. She was electric.
   
2. Chatting with Lucinda Williams on the way out of the Justin Townes Earle show.