Musings of a Dead Parrot

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS
1.  What word of ancient Greek origin is more commonly used in America for the construction material elsewhere called "bitumen"? bitumen sounds like a type of coal.  Coal is not a construction material. Is this something like asphalt which might resemble coal?  Is it a word of ancient Greek origin?
2.  P. D. James's 2011 murder mystery Death Comes to Pemberley was written as a sequel to what 1813 novel?  Pride and Prejudice
3.  Who was the only Buddhist ever to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations?  Ban Kee Moon
4.  Of the thirteen independent island nations of the Caribbean, which is by far the closest to the South American coast?  Aruba is close to the coast of Venezuela if I recall correctly
5.  Solely on the strength of its 257 appearances in "Hey Jude," what is the 25th most commonly used word in the entire Beatles lyrical canon?  "na"  This must be the easiest question he has asked in ages.  Maybe I can use as a tiebreaker at O'Briens if this number is verifiable - how many "na"s in Hey Jude?
6.  Participants in Cub Scout car racing events are typically given a kit based on a block of what kind of wood?  pine, hence the pinewood derby
7.  What What unusual distinction is shared by all these TV series?  Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Northern Exposure, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under, Thirtysomething.  Lost, Northern Exposure, Rescue Me, Six Feet Under - some of my favorite shows of all time.  I cannot verify that it is true for all, but in many of these there is a recurring dead character - in Lost, everyone; in Rescue Me, Tommy's brothers; in Six Feet Under, Nathaniel Fisher; in Thirtysomething I think that Peter Horton's character died and came back to engage in long dialogue just like the rest of the cast.

LAST WEEK'S ANSWERS
1.  According the the old nursery rhyme, on which day of the week did Solomon Grundy die?  Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday.  Sort of a bummer of a nursery rhyme, since he was born just five days before.  correct
2.  The man who coached Western Kentucky's football team from 1989 to 2002 is better known today because of his two sons.  What is their last name?  The longtime Western Kentucky coach is Jack Harbaugh, father of this year's two Super Bowl coaches.  correct
3.  Israeli general Moshe Dayan and American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly are both well-known for wearing what unusual item?  They both wear eyepatches.  Well, Chihuly still does.  I'm not sure if Dayan was buried with his. correct
4.  In aerodynamics, two forces act on an airfoil due to motion: lift, that pushes the object upward, and what second force, which slows it down?  It's kind of a drag.  correct
5.  What movie title hero, according to his 1986 poster, "survived the most hostile and primitive land known to man--now all he's got to do is make it through a week in New York"?  You call that a trivia question?  THIS is a trivia question.  The answer is Crocodile Dundee.  I thought that Encino Man was a reasonable guess.  Paul Hogan, you have dropped off the face of the earth.
6.  The Virginia-based "Altria Group, Inc.", one of America's largest companies, was better known as what before a 2003 rebranding?  Altria is the new, theoretically less cancer-associated name for Philip Morris.  correct
7. What unusual distinction is shared by these people?  Johnny Cash, Johnnie Cochran, Booker T. Jones, Benoit Mandelbrot, David O. Selznick, Harry Truman.  They all had middle initials that stood for nothing--were just letters.  A few added the styling themselves later in life, but most of these people just had parents who got lazy on the birth certificate.  Johnny Cash didn't even have a FIRST name until he needed one to join the Air Force.  correct!