Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What can be made Montreal-style (with egg and poached in honey-water) or New York-style (preferably using Brookyln water, supposedly superior)? bagels
2. Last fall, Reggie Bush became the first person in history to voluntarily return what? the Heisman Trophy. Reggie Bush that season was one of the most exciting players I have seen in college. He deserved that award.
3. To streamline meetings at his local church, what American general published an influential 1876 book on parliamentary procedure? 1876---> Custer?
4. What 2011 film features a doubles match against two tennis players portrayed, in cameos, by former SNL cast members Melanie Hutsell and Nancy Carell? Gotta be Bridesmaids with the other SNL performers like Kristen Wiig in it
5. What name is shared, coincidentally, by Canada's equivalent of the Grammy Awards, and by the beach that Canadian forces took on D-Day? Juno
6. Green Lantern's power ring has historically been vulnerable to objects of what color? I am out of my league on any comic book or video game question. A total guess - blue. No, red!
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these nations and no others? Albania, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Zambia, and probably Zimbabwe. What an fine collection of countries. Zimbabwe probably? What could be uncertain about Zimbabwe to say probably?

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What animal is the only pinniped with tusks? Pinnipeds are seals, and the only tusked seal, as you might have heard, is the walrus. Goo goo ga joob. correct
2. Who was the mother of Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton? All are the violet-eyed offspring of the late, great Elizabeth Taylor. Pour a forty out on the curb for Liz, y'all. correct
3. What TV series was adapted from a book subtitled, "A Town, a Team, and a Dream"? The late, great Friday Night Lights. Pour a forty out on the curb for East Dillon, Texas, y'all. correct
4. What can be found to the left and right of the singer of the song "Stuck in the Middle with You"? There are clowns to the left of him, and jokers to the right. So you understand his dilemma, right? correct
5. What first name is shared by both the namesake founders of Carnegie Mellon University? Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, who founded the university by touching fists and chanting, "Andrew twins activate, form of...a university!" correct
6. What was officially called the "Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart" by its 1961 builders? For some reason, the decadent capitalist name, "Berlin Wall," caught on instead. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these literary characters? Captain Ahab, Bilbo Baggins, Mother Courage, Huck Finn, Ethan Frome, Sherlock Holmes, Lord Jim, Philip Marlowe, Silas Marner, Napoleon the pig. All were described as pipe smokers, which means they all died of lung cancer...but looked great doing it! Brad was on the money. Nice!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. What animal is the only pinniped with tusks? seals are pinnipeds. walrus?
2. Who was the mother of Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton? Wilding, Todd, Burton? Elizabeth Taylor
3. What TV series was adapted from a book subtitled, "A Town, a Team, and a Dream"? Sounds like Friday Night Lights
4. What can be found to the left and right of the singer of the song "Stuck in the Middle with You"? clown is to the left of me, joker's to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you. RIP Gerry Rafferty.
5. What first name is shared by both the namesake founders of Carnegie Mellon University? Andrew
6. What was officially called the "Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart" by its 1961 builders? the Berlin Wall
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these literary characters? Captain Ahab, Bilbo Baggins, Mother Courage, Huck Finn, Ethan Frome, Sherlock Holmes, Lord Jim, Philip Marlowe, Silas Marner, Napoleon the pig. With such an eclectic group, one would think this could be gettable.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. In what mountain range was the Borscht Belt found? These Jewish summer resorts and their famous rapid-fire comics were found in the Catskills of New York. correct
2. What was anciently known as "hydrargyrum," meaning "water-silver"? That's where we get the chemical symbol "Hg," for mercury. correct
3. Krist Novoselic plays bass on what band's new song "I Should Have Known," marking his first on-album collaboration with them? This is Novoselic's first studio-LP reunion with former Nirvana bandmate Dave Grohl, on the new Foo Fighters record. it was a guess, but it was correct
4. What two cities hosted the first non-U.S. expansion teams in both the NBA and the MLS? Toronto and Vancouver got the first Canadian franchises in both leagues--whether or not you count the Toronto Huskies, the only Canadian team in the NBA forerunner Basketball Association of America (1946-47). correct
5. What 1991 film's iconic catchphrase became "Sayonara, baby," in its Spanish-language versions? In Spanish, Ah-nuld's "Hasta la vista, baby" just didn't have that same exotic ring. The film is Terminator 2. correct
6. What was the better-known name for the "Whitechapel killer"? The still-unidentified perpetrator of the "Whitechapel murders" has been nicknamed Jack the Ripper. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? John Belushi, David Carradine, Coco Chanel, Janis Joplin, Robert Kennedy, President John Tyler, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams. All died in hotels. I was very disappointed to learn that Howard Hughes died not in his hotel hideaway, but (allegedly) on board a private plane en route to seeking medical care. Alan Keith Carver nailed it. Nice work!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. In what mountain range was the Borscht Belt found? Catskills
2. What was anciently known as "hydrargyrum," meaning "water-silver"? mercury
3. Krist Novoselic plays bass on what band's new song "I Should Have Known," marking his first on-album collaboration with them? Have no idea what he has done since Nirvana and have never heard "I Should Have Known." Foo Fighters since that is Dave Grohl's band?
4. What two cities hosted the first non-U.S. expansion teams in both the NBA and the MLS? Toronto, Vancouver
5. What 1991 film's iconic catchphrase became "Sayonara, baby," in its Spanish-language versions? Terminator 2
6. What was the better-known name for the "Whitechapel killer"? Jack the Ripper
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these famous people? John Belushi, David Carradine, Coco Chanel, Janis Joplin, Robert Kennedy, President John Tyler, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams. There are some unusual deaths among this group but nothing that appears to be consistent. No patterns yet.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. The Iowa state quarter depicts the childhood schoolhouse of what painter? Grant "American Gothic" Wood is by far Iowa's greatest gift to the art world. (But only because the Etch-a-Sketch is actually made by the Ohio Art Company, not the Iowa Art Company. I always get that confused.) correct
2. What two Broadway megahits of the 1970s were both adapted into films that added a new song called "Sandy"? I think most people remembered "Grease" first, but the title character of "Annie" serenades a Sandy as well--her mutt, in this case. A YouTube mashup switching up the two songs might be fun. correct
3. What country borders both of the world's two most voluminous lakes? The Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal hold more water than any other lake on Earth, and both have Russian shores. I will call this correct
4. By what full name do we remember the famous American woman born Thelma Catherine Ryan, whose father gave her her lifelong nickname the day after her March 16, 1912 birth? Pat Nixon got her nickname from St. Patrick's Day. Wow, if she'd been born a few weeks early, we might have had a First Lady named "Mardi Gras." good get, Jelly Troll Morton!
5. What was demoted thanks to the January 2005 discovery of the larger "Eris"? Eris is the larger-than-Pluto "dwarf planet" that finally got Pluto officially kicked out of the planet club. correct
6. What New Mexico city is home to a professional baseball team appropriately called the Invaders? This one comes courtesy of my dental hygienist, who was talking New Mexico semipro ball last time she cleaned my teeth, for some reason. According to her, the Roswell Invaders wear lime-green uniforms with an "alien grey" mascot in the middle of the big 'R', which sounds completely awesome to me. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Charmed, The Daily Show, The Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Murphy Brown, Soap, and 30 Rock, as well as (in part) Friends, The Good Wife, and Sesame Street? All were created by women--which isn't as unheard-of as it used to be, but still sadly uncommon. In hindsight, I wish I'd included The Nanny in this list, because Fran Drescher has been under-utilized in Tuesday Trivia up until now. ok, I guess

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1. The Iowa state quarter depicts the childhood schoolhouse of what painter? Grant Wood
2. What two Broadway megahits of the 1970s were both adapted into films that added a new song called "Sandy"? Annie and Grease
3. What country borders both of the world's two most voluminous lakes? I think Lake Baikal is the world's most voluminous lake. Black Sea too? So that would be Russia. Or Ukraine. A good question.
4. By what full name do we remember the famous American woman born Thelma Catherine Ryan, whose father gave her her lifelong nickname the day after her March 16, 1912 birth? A good Irish name. But this is a convoluted question. KJ asks for the full name then gives a full name and alludes to a well-known nickname. Is the nickname the full name he wants? It will probably be evident when I learn the answer. Fenway opened in 1912. The Titanic sank in 1912. Neither seems relevant.
5. What was demoted thanks to the January 2005 discovery of the larger "Eris"? Pluto. My Very Evil Mother Just Served Us Nothing.
6. What New Mexico city is home to a professional baseball team appropriately called the Invaders? Invaders --> Roswell
7. What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series? Charmed, The Daily Show, The Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Murphy Brown, Soap, and 30 Rock, as well as (in part) Friends, The Good Wife, and Sesame Street? What an eclectic collection.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1. What much-in-the-news figure set a school high jump record at St. Andrew's School in her native Berkshire? This was the first claim to fame for a young Kate Middleton, who is probably a little peeved right now about Osama bin Laden stealing her news cycle. correct
2. Hepatic coma is a life-threatening medical condition caused by the failure of what organ? "Hepatic" means "of the liver." I like to try to order "hepatic wurst" at delis. correct
3. Of the 4,100 or so ascents that have been made of Mount Everest, almost half were by climbers from what nation? The Nepalese vastly outnumber all other summiteers, because most expeditions are accompanied by knowledgeable local Sherpas. for some reason, I did not even think of the sherpas. But I guess you have to count them. Couldn't climb Everest without them.
4. In 1991, what American actor founded a theater company in his Michigan hometown called "The Purple Rose"? Jeff Daniels, who named the theater after the Woody Allen hit in which he starred, The Purple Rose of Cairo. correct
5. What TV show aired 95 times between September 14, 2009 and its high-profile cancellation on February 9, 2010? The number of shows was the tipoff that this fiasco was a daily one. RIP The Jay Leno Show. I thought of a different daily show
6. What's the more famous day job of Filipino congressman Manny Pacquiao? He's also one of the best boxers in the history of the sport, the first ever to win a match in eight different weight divisions. correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these world cities? Beijing, Bern, Boston, Brussels, Havana, Lhasa, Manchester, Naples, Weimar. These cities have a dog breed (as recognized by the American Kennel Club, which monitors such things) named for them--the Pekingese, the Bernese mountain dog, the Boston terrier, and so forth. correct!