Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What national capital is the oldest European-founded city in the Western Hemisphere? Santo Domingo, DR
2. What actress wrote a 1987 memoir subtitled "How I Went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind"? I would guess a reference to the African Queen. Katherine Hepburn
3. Kali is the consort of which Hindu god? Vishnu? Shiva? Rama?
4. Now that the Texas Rangers are in the World Series, name either of the two remaining major league teams that have never played in one. Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals and the Seattle Mariners
5. The annual Orionid and Eta Aquariid meteor showers owe their existence to what well-known astronomical body? Kuiper Belt?
6. A person can be described as "tow-headed" if they are very what? blond
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these albums? The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, Diamond Dogs by David Bowie, Hotel California by the Eagles, Like Water for Chocolate by Common, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel by Mariah Carey, Please by Pet Shop Boys, Seal II by Seal, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega, A Song for You by the Carpenters. I am first going to look at the songs on each album. Previously he did artists who performed songs whose titles included opposites. After a perusal of the tracklists, they all seem to include one song that is a reprise of another. That's kind of a weak "unusual distinction."

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What three numbers make up the smallest "Pythagorean triple"? A "Pythagorean triple" is a trio of whole numbers that can represent the side lengths of a right triangle. If you're already confused/bored by that sentence, you may not know or care that the answer is 3, 4, and 5.
2. What's the only country in the world that includes territory where drivers drive on the right *and* some territory where drivers drive on the left? Hong Kongers still drive on the left, even after the colony's re-absorption into right-driving China. In hindsight, I could have easily phrased this better to avoid countries like the U.S. or Britain that may still control other-side-driving territories overseas. But since the question specified "the only country," China is clearly the best answer. correct
3. What does a "wildcatter" spend his days looking for? Not wildcats! You are thinking of Kim from 24. A "wildcatter" drills for oil. correct
4. What English entrepreneur, who made his millions by inventing "penny packets" of garden seeds, donated a gold trophy in 1927 to encourage his fellow golfers to play at the same level as top Americans? The Ryder Cup is named after garden-seed millionaire Samuel Ryder. correct
5. What identical song title appears shortly before "My Best Friend" on Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow LP, and shortly before "You're My Best Friend" on Queen's Greatest Hits? Thanks to my dad, for pointing out the "Somebody to Love" coincidence that led to this question. correct
6. Of whose death did Robert E. Lee say, "I have lost my right arm"? It was a reference to Stonewall Jackson, who lost his *left* arm shortly before his 1863 death. Did you see what General Lee did there, with that "arm" thing? Clever. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? The Born Losers, First Blood, In the Heat of the Night, Love Story, Pitch Black, A Shot in the Dark, The Silence of the Lambs, and True Grit. These are all movies that weren't named after their protagonist, but had sequels that were: respectively Billy Jack, Rambo, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, Oliver's Story, The Chronicles of Riddick, Inspector Clouseau, Hannibal, and Rooster Cogburn. Yes, I'm considering the terrible Alan Arkin Inspector Clouseau movie a sequel. Who's going to remember it if I don't? close enough. correct

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What three numbers make up the smallest "Pythagorean triple"? I assume that a Pythagorean triple are three whole numbers that represent the length of the legs and hypotenuse of a right triangle. If so, the smallest would be 3, 4, 5.
2. What's the only country in the world that includes territory where drivers drive on the right *and* some territory where drivers drive on the left? a guess - China. You might drive on the right in most of the country but on the left in Hong Kong.
3. What does a "wildcatter" spend his days looking for? oil. As I would hear it in Oklahoma, wildcatters are in the "awl bidness."
4. What English entrepreneur, who made his millions by inventing "penny packets" of garden seeds, donated a gold trophy in 1927 to encourage his fellow golfers to play at the same level as top Americans? Samuel Ryder
5. What identical song title appears shortly before "My Best Friend" on Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow LP, and shortly before "You're My Best Friend" on Queen's Greatest Hits? As I was working through possibilities, I hit on the answer - Somebody To Love. I was going to be really surprised if it was Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, I Want to Ride My Bicycle or Fat Bottomed Girls.
6. Of whose death did Robert E. Lee say, "I have lost my right arm"? RELee would say this about a fellow soldier, wouldn't he? I can only think of one other confederate general - Stonewall Jackson.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these movies? The Born Losers, First Blood, In the Heat of the Night, Love Story, Pitch Black, A Shot in the Dark, The Silence of the Lambs, and True Grit. This does not seem as hard as I thought it might be. They are all movies with sequels whose titles are different from the prequel (most include the character name) - Billy Jack, Rambo, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, Oliver's Story, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Pink Panther, Hannibal, Rooster Cogburn

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What passion does a "railbird" enjoy? Lots of people mixed up "railfans" and "railbirds"; "railfans" are the weirdos who stalk trains. "Railbirds" merely lose their family's hard-earned income betting on horse racing. correct
2. What unusual item was worn by both Werner Klemperer and Burgess Meredith in their most familiar TV roles? Colonel Klink and the Penguin both wore a monocle. Maybe they also both liked to wear silky women's underwear, but we can't accept that answer without proof, sorry. correct
3. Which U.S. senate candidate has released a video to explain that he was *not* named for his father's favorite author, as has been claimed? Rand Paul isn't named after Ayn Rand, sorry. Do nerd libertarians named their children "Heinlein"? correct
4. What profession made Louis Sullivan and Louis Kahn famous? They were architects, like Mike Brady, only better. correct
5. One "astronomical unit," or AU, is defined as the distance between the Earth and what? Between us and the Sun...well, our average distance from the Sun. correct
6. Who played Elvis Presley's mother in Blue Hawaii and Laurence Harvey's mother in The Manchurian Candidate, despite being only a few years older than both? I hope Angela Lansbury didn't take it personally. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Rwanda, Peru, the U.S., China, Mongolia, Mongolia, China, Brazil, China, and Zambia. These are the respective sources of the world's ten longest rivers: the Nile, the Amazon, and so on. (Obviously there's some wiggle room here since no two lists of river length and origin agree. I used the World Almanac's "longest rivers" list and defined a river's "source" as its farthest headwaters, not its most abundant ones.) My, that was tough. It was a top 10 list, but not one that I recognized. I did not know for example that the Nile headwaters are in Rwanda. I also did not realize that 5 of the 10 longest rivers are mostly in Asia.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What passion does a "railbird" enjoy? a railbird could refer to the fans who stand at the rail and watch horses train and race. We also refer to the fans who watch college football practice as railbirds.
2. What unusual item was worn by both Werner Klemperer and Burgess Meredith in their most familiar TV roles? Mr. Peanut too. A monacle.
3. Which U.S. senate candidate has released a video to explain that he was *not* named for his father's favorite author, as has been claimed? Rand Paul (reference to Ayn Rand)
4. What profession made Louis Sullivan and Louis Kahn famous? architecture
5. One "astronomical unit," or AU, is defined as the distance between the Earth and what? This seems to be most logically the average distance between the Earth and the Sun
6. Who played Elvis Presley's mother in Blue Hawaii and Laurence Harvey's mother in The Manchurian Candidate, despite being only a few years older than both? Angela Lansbury
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these countries, listed in this order? Rwanda, Peru, the U.S., China, Mongolia, Mongolia, China, Brazil, China, and Zambia. Why are China and Mongolia listed multiple times?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What hit 2010 film was based on a book called The Accidental Billionaires? Which was (very loosely!) based on reality. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and company are the accidental billionaires in question in The Social Network. correct
2. What small Asian lake lent its name to one of the most influential scientists in history? A non-Asian scientist, which made this a little trickier than usual. Galileo Galilei's family name was a reference to the Sea of Galilee, of Jesus-lived-there fame. once I searched outside of East Asia, I found this answer.
3. If her husband had won his election, what still-living woman would have become the first foreign-born American First Lady since John Quincy Adams' wife? Ketchup bajillionaire Theresa Heinz Kerry is without a doubt the most powerful American ever to have been born in Mozambique.
4. According to legend, what famous and much-feared object was forged on the isle of Avalon? King Arthur is buried on Avalon, ergo this is his sword Excalibur. correct
5. What artist set a record in 2009 by having all seven songs on his debut EP chart on Billboard's Hot 100? Justin Bieber accomplished this amazing feat. What? It is amazing. How many Hot 100 hits did YOU have before your voice changed? correct
6. What U.S. government agency can be reached toll-free at 1-800-829-1040? The "1040" part is easier than the other seven digits; this is the IRS. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Castle, Louie, M*A*S*H, Maverick, The Odd Couple, Roseanne, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The West Wing. Each featured (or features) a regular poker game. So did Celebrity Poker Showdown, but I thought that might make the question a LITTLE too easy. Shoot. This required that you actually had to have watched a bunch of episodes to identify the poker game pattern. Internet research was not going to help. But my incorrect answer might be a good starting point for another Q7.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What hit 2010 film was based on a book called The Accidental Billionaires? The Social Network
2. What small Asian lake lent its name to one of the most influential scientists in history? am I looking for an Asian scientist? influential may mean that this person has something named after him, like a constant or a law.
3. If her husband had won his election, what still-living woman would have become the first foreign-born American First Lady since John Quincy Adams' wife? let's review the recent losers - John McCain, John Kerry, Al Gore, Bob Dole, GHWB, Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale. Whose wife was not born in the US? Gad, no idea. Kitty Dukakis? What's-her-name Heinz? No way Cindy McCain or Tipper Gore are foreign born unless they are Canadian.
4. According to legend, what famous and much-feared object was forged on the isle of Avalon? Excalibur (the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the whitest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur, thereby signifying that I, Arthur, am the true born kind of Britain. Look, strange women lying around in ponds is no basis for a system of government.)
5. What artist set a record in 2009 by having all seven songs on his debut EP chart on Billboard's Hot 100? I was trying to think of a rapper or hip hop guy when this answer came to me - Justin Bieber.
6. What U.S. government agency can be reached toll-free at 1-800-829-1040? IRS
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Castle, Louie, M*A*S*H, Maverick, The Odd Couple, Roseanne, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The West Wing. Characters whose names are based on real people? I found the following Richard Edgar Castle where Edgar is from Edgar Allan Poe; Benjamin Franklin Pierce (MASH); Doc Holliday (Maverick); Jerry Garcia Conner (Roseanne); Samuel Clemens (Star Trek TNG); Katarina Witt (West Wing). But I can't find anyone who fits this theme for Louie or The Odd Couple.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. Where on your body would you wear brogues, Bluchers, or Balmorals? On your feet, one would hope, since they're all varieties of shoe. correct
2. What's the only U.S. metropolis to have over half its population--a whopping 60.6%--made up of foreign-born residents? Miami is far and away the most foreign-born big American city. L.A., for example, is in third, and it's barely above 40%. Honolulu (my guess) is around 20%. Miami, Los Angeles, NYC, Houston, SF - these are port of entry cities. Interesting that Miami has so many more foreign born residents than the others.
3. What was the real first name shared by two icons of 1950s childhood: Dr. Seuss and Beaver Cleaver? Theodore Seuss Geisel and Theodore Cleaver. Did they ever meet? Who knows. correct
4. Name any one of the three movie soundtracks to be the year's top-selling album during the 1990s. The Bodyguard, The Lion King, and Titanic. Boy, a tripel play of the big hits from each of those respective albums would be like an instant time-machine trip to any crappy Gen-Y high school dance. correct
5. What famous quote is the first half of a 1964 couplet that ends, "Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see"? "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," the most famous bit of verse by noted modern American poet M. Ali. correct
6. The president of France is, by law, also the "co-prince" of what other nation? Nicholas Sarkozy is, in addition to his day job, co-prince of tiny Andorra, by treaties that date back to 1278! The bishop of the Catalan diocese of Urgell also gets to be a "co-prince." I wonder if there's a tidy little paycheck associated with co-princedom, or if they get to sleep with their choice of co-princesses. correct.
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these films? Donnie Darko, Gas Food Lodging, Good Will Hunting, Grand Hotel, Mo' Better Blues, Say Anything..., The Royal Tenenbaums, Young Guns. Not a particularly hard one this week: these are all movies that co-starred famous pairs of siblings. Actually, one of these movies has *two* pairs of siblings in big roles--do you know which one? Answer is at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100168/ , if you can't figure it out. correct!