Entries Tagged 'Questions'
New Challenge Round Starts with the Music Man
Well, Christopher was right, it was indeed Meredith Willson's the Music Man that we went to see yesterday. Kevin, being the ever resourceful fellow that he is, also did a good job confirming this guess. I think since I read my Challenge small print from last fall and found that the game was suppose to end by the beginning of June, I'll start the counter over. I guess I made it too hard, since no one managed to win, despite a lot of really worthy efforts. Both Christopher and Kevin now have 15 asisaid-2k5 points (I'll keep “lifetime” tallies as well, but for this round, we'll start from scratch).
This was my second time seeing the Music Man within about a year, the last time being at the Muny at the end of July 2004. I'll talk more about the reprise in a post in a few days, along with my promised Mame review.
Just so that you know I wasn't in a strange mood, let me take out the hints from my last post and identify them:
- Not even a copy of Captain Billy’s Wizbang could have beaten it! The publication Captain Billy's Wizbang is one of the things Prof. Hill points to as an indication of child in the grips of the kind of trouble that arrives with a pool table. He references it in the song “Ya Got Trouble.” Oh, ya got trouble. Terrible, terrible trouble!
- No there where no white knights in the play or angels with wings. “A Lancelot” or an angels with wings are what Marian Paroo says she is not looking for in her white knight in the song “My White Knight.” Trivia fact: My White Knight was replaced by “Being in Love” in the 1962 movie version of the musical.
- The great Creatore or John Philips Sousa. Both of these musical savants appeared, among other greats, in the same town, on the same day, when 76 trombones led the big parade. At least that's what Harold Hill says happens in the segue from “Ya Got Trouble (Reprise)” into “76 Trombones.”
- ”I don’t believe I caught the name of the play.” I don’t believe I dropped it. One of the salesmen immediately after the opening song (“Rock Island”) asks Hill for his name after the good “professor” says he'll have to try selling in Iowa sometime (another salesman has just been discussing how bad Hill is, how he'd like to get his hands on him, but how Hill would never bother coming someplace as hard to sell at as Iowa). When one man says “I don't believe I caught your name,” Hill replies “I don't believe I dropped it,” as he reveals his suitcase, with his name on it, to the audience.
For the Rain It Rainth Everyday
A friend of mine from out of town commented back in May that St. Louis does not have refreshing afternoon storms to cool down the air after a hot day. Actually, sometimes we do have them, but this spring was rather dry. Now, we are catching up, and in a big way. There is a storm with what sounds like straight line winds of up to 80 MPH (129 KPH) heading our way as I write. I might be gone for awhile if the power is taken out. That reminded me of a song from a play.
He that has and a little tiny wit—
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,—
Must make content with his fortunes fit,
For the rain it raineth every day.
Where is this quote from? That is an asisaid Challenge Question worth 10 points.
When that I was and a little tiny boy,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.But when I came to man's estate,
With hey, ho, &c.
'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
For the rain, &c.But when I came, alas! to wive,
But when I came unto my beds,
With hey, ho, &c.
By swaggering could I never thrive,
For the rain, &c.
With hey, ho, &c.
With toss-pots still had drunken heads,
For the rain, &c.
What is different about this part of the song? That is a challenge question worth 20 points.
Challenge Set #10
For instructions on how to play the Challenge, click here (also see the modifications listed here).
Scoreboard
Kevin: 220 (up from 215 on April 16) — An incorrect but good guess concerning April 29 helps Kevin.
Flip: 130 (up from 105 on February 13) — Nietzsche and Homer moves Flip forward.
Christopher: 70
Jason: 35
Josiah: 30
Eduardo: 20
Ed: 10
Chris (answering vicariously for his wife): 10
New Questions
10.1) What are the three most popular countries for tourism in the world (in correct order). (10 pts.)
10.2) What was launched this day (May 14) in 1973? (5 pts.)
10.3) What was Ludwig Wittgenstein's view of how we could relate different religions? (10 pts.)
10.4) What part of speech is “accusative” in English? (5 pts.)
10.5) Who said this and where? (10 pts.)The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself—
Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.
10.6) Whose shoe was lost this week during the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol Building and who returned it? (5 pts.)
Remaining Questions
9.3) What is happening at 6:00 PM, 13 days from now (presently, it is April 16). (5 pts.)
9.5) What bill has made it to the President's desk in recent days that has the support of retailers and is hated by some consumer advocates? (5 pts.)
Challenge Set #9
House Cleaning
Let's answer the unfinished questions of the past:
7.4.) Who was the one clergyman to sign the U.S. Constitution? What was his affiliation? (5 pts.) Whoops, I should have asked for a signer of the Declaration of Independence instead. The answer then would be John Witherspoon, who was president of what is now Princeton University for a time.
7.5.) What are the two parts of AT&T, other than Baby Bells, that will be reunited if the SBC-AT&T merger is approved by regulatory agencies? What makes this merger such an interesting contrast to AT&T's 1998 acquisition of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI)? (10 5 pts.) If you check the numbers, AT&T paid sizably more for the upstart TCI than SBC is paying for the telephone company, Ma Bell, just a few years later.
8.1.) Who wrote/spoke the following and, if applicable, what is it? What other thing — I'm being intentionally vague here — derives its name from a phrase within here? (10 pts.)Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer;The answer here is William Butler Yeats (notice the connection to my name) and it is a poem entitled The Second Coming. Kevin guessed Achebe's Things Fall Apart for the latter part of the question, which is exactly what I was shooting for.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
8.3.) Name the ties of the apostate UCC denomination to the Puritans and eighteenth century Methodists. (10 pts.) BONUS: Link it to the German Pietists as well for 5 pts. The Congregational Christian church resulted from the merger of a part of the eighteen century Christian movement (which in turn came from Methodist/Revival influence) and the Congregational Church, the church of the Pilgrims. This new church merged with the Evangelical and Reformed church, which traces part of its roots back to the German Pietists that settled in Missouri and elsewhere.
The Result of the Photo Game
And now the time has come to see the end,
To this small amusement answer I’ll amend.
Tis not the first that will be correct of them,
For that is Shakespeare the rival of Ben.
Tis not the sixth, I do maintain to you,
He’s Jim the church’s custodian, that’s who.
Nor ‘twas it five, though Kevin tried quite hard,
He was from Google unknown to this bard.
(And had he been the hidden face of mine,
Less likely this amusement kept I on Valentine.)
No guesséd number two which is too bad,
A friend of mine is he for which I’m glad.
But two remain, for I am almost done,
Which surely good is for one unlike Donne.
Would that I would be the number four,
For Senator (state) would be on my door.
But last, ‘tis I, it’s number three for me,
A shot so bad – alas! – that’s what you see.
Now when Aurora’s fingers climb the sky,
And day again bids night a clear “good bye,”
A better picture shall I post on here,
Though still best suited for radio careers.
Flip’s the one, the only one who guess’d it,
So she crowned winner has thus won this bit.
Challenge Reminder
There are four questions presently open in the latest challenge (7.4, 7.5, 8.1, 8.3) . If you're looking to size up your position, don't miss this great opportunity. I'm also thinking about reworking the rules so that the threshold for a prize is lower. Sound good or do y'all like it the way it is?
Also, don't forget that you have one day left to guess the right photo over here. Everyone with the right answer will get 30 pts.
Photo Game
As long as I'm having fun giving all of you a hard time about my photo, I might as well make a game out of it… Ok, one of these photos is a picture of yours truly. The others are people I know or have at least met (well, save for two, one of which I feel like I know and one of whom I don't know at all). Which one of these is me? 30 pts.to each right answer within the next 48 hours — one try per person, so choose wisely.
Challenge Set #8
Scoreboard
Kevin: 190 (up from 180 on February)
Flip: 70 (up from 60 on February 4)
Christopher: 65
Jason: 35
Josiah: 30
Eduardo: 20
Ed: 10
Chris (answering vicariously for his wife): 10
Flip rises up the ranks to pass Christopher; can she pass Kevin and claim the crown?
Questions Still Open
Answer these on this post and not the old post.
7.4.) Who was the one clergyman to sign the U.S. Constitution? What was his affiliation? (5 pts.)
7.5.) What are the two parts of AT&T, other than Baby Bells, that will be reunited if the SBC-AT&T merger is approved by regulatory agencies? What makes this merger such an interesting contrast to AT&T's 1998 acquisition of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI)? (10 5 pts.)
New Question Set #8 1.) Who wrote/spoke the following and, if applicable, what is it? What other thing — I'm being intentionally vague here — derives its name from a phrase within here? (10 pts.)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
2.) Who recently wrote in the blogosphere about a 100 MPG car (that person cannot answer this question)? Who developed the 100 MPG hybrid? (5 pts.)
3.) Name the ties of the apostate UCC denomination to the Puritans and eighteenth century Methodists. (10 pts.) BONUS: Link it to the German Pietists as well for 5 pts.
4.) What important U.S. figure (of the present time) is a distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II? (5 pts.)
5.) What are the key technological differences between CDMA and GSM cellular systems? Which one uses a TDMA system? (15 pts.)
Challenge Set #7
Scoreboard
Kevin: 180 (up from 160 on January 28)
Christopher: 65
Flip: 60 (up from 45 on January 28)
Jason: 35
Josiah: 30
Eduardo: 20
Ed: 10
Chris (answering vicariously for his wife): 10
Christopher is losing ground to Flip again… this does not look good for the owner to the title of first recipient of asisaid points.
New Challenge Questions
1.) Who is saying this, in what and (if applicable) by whom? What's the irony to it? (5 pts.)
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.2.) Who is saying this, in what and (if applicable) by whom? (5 pts.)
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
We have known times of sorrow, and hours of uncertainty, and days of victory. In all this history, even when we have disagreed, we have seen threads of purpose that unite us.
3.) Something in the last week gives Rick Warren, Chuck Colson and Dr. James Dobson something new in common. What is it? (5 pts.)
4.) Who was the one clergyman to sign the U.S. Constitution? What was his affiliation? (5 pts.)
5.) What are the two parts of AT&T, other than Baby Bells, that will be reunited if the SBC-AT&T merger is approved by regulatory agencies? What makes this merger such an interesting contrast to AT&T's 1998 acquisition of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI)? (10 pts.)
Challenge #6 Update
An update to the last post. If you want to answer one of the remaining questions, please answer it here rather than on the last post.
Scoreboard
Kevin: 160 (up from 145 on January 27)
Christopher: 65
Flip: 45 (up from 35 on January 27)
Jason: 35 (up from 15 on January 27)
Josiah: 30
Eduardo: 20
Ed: 10
Chris (answering vicariously for his wife): 10
5.2.) Jason solved the long standing mystery by properly identifying Mrs. Marwood of William Congreve's The Way of the World as the speaker of the quote. I, like Jason, have only read, not seen the play. Although, I believe Congreve actually intended it to be read, so maybe that isn't a bad thing. One expert on the subject insists that TWOTW is the height of satire in the English language as a comedy of manners. Personally, I'd lean toward Jonson's Volpone, as the superior satire; it, of course, is a comedy of humors to an extent (coming from no less an author than the one who wrote Every Man Out Of His Humor), although not to the extent of the Alchemist. The Alchemist is probably the finest of the plays technically, I'd suggest, but Volpone has much of the same “stuff” without having as difficult of “entry.” A few other satires occur to me that are even finer, perhaps, but I shall refrain from mentioning them, they would make good Challenge questions.
6.2.) Kevin and Flip both brought up the Diet of Worms, which is correct.
6.3) I was indeed thinking of Challenger. Being from the Midwest, I can live with Baltimore defeating New York.
6.5.) The New LaHaye/Jenkins trilogy was correctly identified by Kevin as a prequel to Left Behind. Personally, I think both authors should concentrate on their independently developed series — Apocalypse Rising and Soon, respectively — rather than completely beating the dead Left Behind Series horse to smithereens. Will I buy it? Maybe.
Questions Open for the Taking
Lonely question 4.1 still wants an answer. Just for Flip, I'll even permit Googling for this one. Of course, places other than Google may hit the nail on the head better, but Google does help. Hint: the first result I found on Google was a bit too simplistic on the details of the what he had to do to benefit from the action I am referring to.
Question 6.1 received a guess from Kevin which was not correct. A major online technology publication network just wrote about this. Someone familiar with Michael Robertson (presently of Linspire) probably can figure out which publication and track down the information.
Also, question 6.4 was not penned by Benjamin Franklin, although it would have been humorous if he had — the rest of the text from which the excerpt comes would be interesting if applied to Mr. Arnold. Anyone want to take another stab at this one?
