Musings of a Dead Parrot

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.