Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Painted Lady, Blue Morpho, and Mallow Skipper at all types of what? never heard of Blue Morpho or Mallow Skipper. The Painted Lady sounds like a carnival side show act. Mallow Skipper sounds like something nautical however. And they are all capitalized as proper nouns.
2. Who famously spent every Oscar night playing clarinet with the New Orleans Marching and Funeral Band at Michael's Pub? Woody Allen.
3. The family on the TV show Party of Five was named for what author? The only reason I have heard of this show is because Matthew Fox from Lost was on it. But I don't know anything about Party of Five. Probably not Shakespeare or Steinbeck. I will guess Dickens.
4. What's the only bird represented in the Chinese zodiac? emu, falcon, eagle, phoenix, seagull, robin, pelican, albatross, flamingo (The Year of the Flamingo), scissortail flycatcher. None of these seem right. What am I missing? Seems like it should be a water bird. Is there a crane in the zodiac? ---> Usually I am slow and inaccurate. But I think I just got it. Rooster.
5. Which Major League Baseball team is named for a law enforcement agency created in 1835? Texas Rangers. Saddle up!
6. Whose 1948 death was announced with this radio broadcast: "'Bapu,' as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more"? Mahatma Ghandi
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these musical acts? Boogie Down Productions, Fairport Convention, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Motorhead, Juice Newton, Stacey Q, The Steve Miller Band, Styx. Thanks to Stacey Q and Juice Newton, I think I have it. They all released songs with a title of a playing card - Jack of Spades, ?, Queen of Clubs, Ace of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Two of Hearts, The Joker (nice), Queen of Spades

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What's the only non-broadcast-network TV series ever to win an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series? HBO's Sex and the City won in 2001. Strangely, the eviscerated TBS rerun version of the series has yet to win any Emmys. The Larry Sanders Show was the first cable TV series to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. But it did not win.
2. The legendary predator called the "chupacabras" is named for its propensity to attack what kind of animal? "Chupacabras" is Spanish for "goat-sucker," since goat is reputedly the blood of choice for the non-existent beast. (I was hoping non-Spanish-speakers might remember words like "caprine" or "Capricorn" here.) I think some credit is due for sheep despite the provenance of the name. According to reports, chupacabras have killed lots and lots of sheep and relatively few goats.
3. Deuterium and tritium are isotopes of what element? These radioactive substances are forms of hydrogen. I am a science moron.
4. In what two neighboring U.S. states does the largest city have a name of the form "_____ City"? Oklahoma City and Kansas City are the cities involved: the states are Oklahoma and...not Kansas, but Missouri. correct
5. What part of the world was settled by Dutch farmers called "Boers"? Southern Africa, and their clashes with the British led to the Boer Wars of the last years of the 19th century. correct
6. In 2003, Cheerios created a limited-edition cereal brand called "43's" in honor of what retired sports legend? "Number 43" is NASCAR legend Richard Petty. Nah, I've never heard of him either. Our blue-state Cheerios were "Noam-O's," in honor of Noam Chomsky, that year. Did I actually say Earnhart? I know he is 3 while The King is 43. My mind must have been taken over by a chupacabra or affected by a flash sideways or something.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? Alice in Wonderland (1951), Cabin in the Sky, Click, The Devil's Advocate, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, Robot Monster, The Wizard of Oz, The Woman in the Window. Is there a worse movie cop-out than "It was all a dream?" Well, let me save you two hours of watching Click: these are all movies that never happened, because IT WAS ALL A DREAM! Good job, Kmac.