Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. A framboise beer is fermented using what kind of fruit? a berry of some kind. Blackberries?
2. The second- and third-longest rivers in Africa each have two nations named for them. Name both rivers. Zambezi (Zambia and ?), Niger (Niger and Nigeria). What are the other major rivers in Africa? Gambia. And the Congo! That must be #2.
3. The 2009 romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer ends with its protagonist putting the past behind him by asking out a girl with what first name? My favorite movie from 2009. Here is one reason why. The girl's name is Autumn.
4. What corporate move have Accenture, AT&T, and Gatorade all recently made? dropped Tiger Woods as a "partner"
5. Who ruled alongside her son Caesarion for the last fourteen years of her life? female ruler in Roman times --> Cleopatra
6. If a cell has a flagellum, what does it use it for? flagellum are the little tails, aren't they? They appear to be used for propulsion.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these languages, and no others? Chinook Wawa, English, French, Greek, Hawaiian, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. It has to be something about US place names, doesn't it?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Which two signs of the Zodiac have names that come from Latin plurals? One fish is a "piscis," and one twin is a "geminus." I spent about twenty minutes making sure that "libra" (scales) wasn't a plural for "librum" or something, but it's not. One balance is a libra, two are librae. Also, they're intuitive, sensitive, and charming! correct
2. Chen Kenichi, Yutaka Ishinabe, Masahiko Kobe, and Rokusaburo Michiba were the first four men to hold what TV title? These were the original four Iron Chefs. Allez cuisine! correct
3. In what appropriately-named Tom Hanks movie does Dr. J have a cameo? Wait, was Tom Hanks in The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh? No? Then this must be Philadelphia. correct
4. When air-breathing divers get "the bends," the culprit is bubbles of what gas? Nitrogen, though if you're breathing a mix of helium or some other inert gas, that can also make the deadly bubbles. Tiny bubbles... correct
5. "Klondike" is the specific name for the most popular form of what card game? We just call it "solitaire," but if you're a real hardcore solitaire fan, like those shades-wearing guys that play in the World Series of Solitaire on ESPN, you call it "Klondike."
6. What historical event was led, from 1483 to 1498, by Tomas de Torquemada? The Spanish Inquisition! No one expects...me not to make the obvious joke here. correct. Let's face it. You can't torquemada anything!
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? Ludwig van Beethoven, Jean Cocteau, Archduke Ferdinand, Brian Jones, H. P. Lovecraft, Harvey Milk, Natalie Portman, Babe Ruth, Jean Paul Sartre, Andy Warhol. All have been paid tribute in the names of rock bands, from Camper van Beethoven to Franz Ferdinand to the Dandy Warhols. My personal favorite: The Brian Jonestown Massacre. My favorite name, that is. Not my favorite band. In
fact, it would probably piss them off that I just mentioned the Dandy Warhols before I got to them. There is a band called Natalie Portman's Shaved Head? And Harvey Milk? And the JPS Band? Who knew? By the way, according to Wikipedia the Cocteau Twins are not named for Jean Cocteau. They named after a song by another Scottish band (which became Simple Minds).