Post on 14-Jul-2015
1. NEWS
An obituary in the Albuquerque Journal, Oct 3, 2013 stated that the person had
died after a long battle with lung cancer and a gunshot wound. It also stated that,
“in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a drug abuse prevention charity of
your choice. “
Whose obituary?
2. PEOPLE
“In 1951, he visited the anechoic chamber at Harvard University. He wrote
later, "I heard two sounds, one high and one low. When I described them to
the engineer in charge, he informed me that the high one was my nervous
system in operation, the low one my blood in circulation.”
What happened as a result?
ANSWER
John Cage had gone to a place where he expected total silence, and yet heard
sound. "Until I die there will be sounds. And they will continue following my
death. One need not fear about the future of music.” The realization as he saw it
of the impossibility of silence led to the composition of 4′33″ .
3. TECHNOLOGY
Which well known
technological feature
described by this image
in a patent won an
Emmy in 1998?
ANSWER
Title: Method and apparatus for adding a graphic indication of a first down to a
live video of a football game
See http://www.todaysengineer.org/2010/Jun/history.asp
4. HISTORY
In 1906, Lizzie Magie, an artist, writer, feminist and inventor received a patent
for a game. “In a short time, I hope a very short time, men and women will
discover that they are poor because Carnegie and Rockefeller, maybe, have
more than they know what to do with.” Parker Brothers bought it later.
Which game?
ANSWER
Her Landlord’s Game was later sold to the Parker Brothers who called a revised
version ‘Monopoly’.
5. BAY AREA
Last year, Reddit’s CEO resigned over a dispute with his colleagues. He
wanted to move its HQ from San Francisco to this city, but they refused. The
cookie cutter homes in that city inspired Malvina Reynolds to compose this
song which was made popular by Peter Seeger.
Which Bay Area city?
6. BUSINESS
Ingram Berg Shavitz and partner Roxanne Quimby began this business by
selling candles and honey. Some years later, Quimby broke up with Shavitz,
gave him $130,000 for his house and moved the company over to Durham,
N.C. She sold 80% of the company in 2004 to investors for $173m. Three
years later, Clorox bought the company from them for $925m. Quimby made
more than $300m from the deal, of which she gave Shavitz $4m.
Which company?
7. CULTURE
She was born Betty Joan Perske in 1924 of
Jewish parents. She died in 2014. Besides
being a legend in her own right, she coined
the term for her husband’s ‘gang’ which this
group later adopted.
By what name do we know her better?
8. BAY AREA
Following a request by Sri Chinmoy, Urmila started a vegetarian restaurant in
San Francisco in 1973 along with her sister Kitsuan and her husband
Devadip. Even though her (now ex) husband owns many restaurants in the
Bay Area, he is more famous in another field.
Which one?
ANSWER
Ended the system of trial by jury in India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._M._Nanavati_v._State_of_Maharashtra
10. CULTURE
Donald William Sinclair was the co–
proprietor of this place in Torquay. In
the early 1970s, a group stayed here
for three weeks. Due to Sinclair's
rudeness towards them, which included
criticizing one member's table etiquette
and tossing another's briefcase out of a
window "in case it contained a bomb",
all except two of the group left. What
happened as a result?
ANSWER
The group included cast members of ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth stayed. This led directly to the creation of ‘Fawlty Towers’.
ANSWER
‘The Black Stain’ depicts the
loss of Alscae-Lorraine to
Germany after the war of
1870. Nationalistic furor was
responsible for the
annexation by France in
1918.
12. CULTURE
What did you think of the literary scene in Calcutta?
We poets—Sunil Ganguly, Shakti Chatterjee, and others—met a lot in the coffee houses. Peter
and I were excited by the idea of there being a whole gang of poets like there were in New York
and San Francisco, who were friends, and that we could communicate across the Pacific Ocean,
and that East could meet West, and that they knew our work, and that we could interpret it more
and show them poets like Gregory Corso and others they might not have heard of.. Who?
ANSWER
Allen Ginsberg
See PDF here
http://ariel.ucalgary.ca/ariel/index.php/ariel/article/download/2688/2635
I highly encourage you to listen to the BBC report on the Kolkata Beat Poets
(Jan 2015)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04ws24p
13. CULTURE
Robert Brown the executive director of the Center for World Music in Berkeley
compiled a world music collection for which he asked Ann Druyan to search
for Kesarbai Kerkar’s rendition of 'Jaat Kahaan Ho'. Unable to find it since it
was an old record that was out of print, Druyan asked Brown to ask for an
alternative. Brown refused stating, "There’s nothing close." She managed to
find it in an Indian restaurant in NY and it is now included in this collection.
Which collection?
15. SCIENCE
This "is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability
of the existence of extraterrestrial civilization and humanity's lack of contact
with, or evidence for, such civilizations."
What is the well known term for this contradiction that arose as a result of a
conversation between a bunch of scientists at Los Alamos?
ANSWER
Ans. The creation of Charlie Hebdo.
On November 1, 1970, a tragic, disastrous fire at the 5-7 nightclub in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont caused the deaths of 146 people, and shocked the entire nation. Charles De Gaulle died in the same month. The satire magazine Hara Kiri ran this headline which was considered a joke “too soon” leading to a ban of its sale to minors. A week later, Hara Kiri was shut down and Charlie Hebdo was born. The name was a reference to Charles De Gaulle and Charlie Brown.
17. ETYMOLOGY
Created as a name for this character
in 1924, the term came into general
usage in American English indicate
someone of an unusually meek, bland,
soft or submissive nature, who is
easily overlooked, written off, and who
may also appear overly sensitive,
timid, indecisive or cowardly.
What?
18. MUSIC
This is a rhythmical sound consisting of three beats played (usually
repetitively) by a band or orchestra, esp. one accompanying a waltz or polka.
Also, the name of a successful comic series from 1958.
What?
(Music - Blue Danube/Strauss – Herbert Von Karajan/Vienna)
ANSWER
oom-pah-pah
Oumpah-Pah le Peau-Rouge”
(“Oumpah-Pah the Redskin”) –
Rene’ Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
Source:
OED and Encyclopedia Britannica
19. LITERATURE
“The book addresses themes of
sexual orientation, gender roles,
suicide, dysfunctional family life,
and the role of literature in
understanding oneself and one's
family.”
The author won a MacArthur
genius award in 2014.
Name of author and title of the
graphic novel?
20. POLITICSHe is a Maltese-American. One of the greatest cartoonists/journalists of our
generation, he has written spectacular works set in Palestine, Serbia/Bosnia,
France and India.
He always draws himself in his novels, but sans his eyes.
Who?
ANSWERJoe Sacco. This is the famous novel/mural of the Great War released last year. Below
that is a panel from ‘Kushinagar ’.
21. WORLD VIEW
An Israeli graphic novelist and writer,
her books ‘Exit Wounds’ and ‘The
Property’ were very popular. The NY
Times has compared her work to
Herge’s Tintin. She has drawn many
cartoon stories for the NYT.
Who?
22. WAR
This Israeli animated film won the
Golden Globe for Best Foreign
Language film in 2009 and was also
nominated for the Oscar in that
category. A graphic novel version of
the film was released in 2014.
23. CULTURE
"I think probably the most important
thing about American Splendor, in all
its incarnations, is that there were very
few people in the earlier days of
comics prepared to put their work
where their mouth was. [He] believed
there was no limit to how good comics
could be. To chronicle his life from
these tiny wonderful moments of magic
and of heartbreak — and the most
important thing was that he did it."
—Neil Gaiman about whom?
24. MUSIC
In which novel that was later made into a film will you find a critical moment
described by the whistling of this tune sung here by Marlene Dietrich?
25. CULTURE
Kristen Bell's nerdy clever Halloween costume from the film 'Fanboys' depicts
which seminal era ?
26. LITERATURE
All except one of this British writer’s works have been nominated for
awards. Four of them were for the Man Booker prize, which he eventually
won for a novel in 1999. That novel was made into a film and was nominated
for eight Academy awards, but won none.
He has also written/co-written several songs for an album by Stacey Kent
titled ‘Breakfast in the Morning Train’.
Who?
ANSWER
Kazuo Ishiguro.
See
http://www.independent.co.uk/ne
ws/people/profiles/how-we-met-
stacey-kent--kazuo-ishiguro-
8826373.html
27. SCULPTURE
“X (male nature spirits) are personifications of the natural world. Over time they were worshipped as minor gods in both the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons, often functioning as protectors of the earth’s riches, and they became associated with wealth. This potbellied dwarf once raised his arms to support a bowl on his head, which identifies him as a “carrier,” or bharavahaka X.”
What is X?
Period: Shunga period
Date: ca. 50 B.C.
Culture: India (Madhya Pradesh)
Medium: Sandstone
27. DRAMA
It is a classical character that
originated in the commedia dell'arte
of the 17th century and became a
stock character in Neapolitan
puppetry. The English variant is
shown below
Name the character?
ANSWER
Pulcinella, often called Punch or Punchinello in English & Polichinelle in French.
The English characters in the image are Punch and Judy.
28. FOOD
Part of an abstract in the New Yorker - The Talk of the Town DECEMBER 19, 1942 ISSUE.
“ABSTRACT: Talk. Forty-eight years ago Lemuel X came into the dining room of the old Waldorf for a late breakfast. He had a hangover & ordered buttered toast, crisp bacon, 2 poached eggs, & a hooker of hollandaise sauce, & then & there put together the dish that has, ever since, borne his name.”
Identify X.
ANSWER
Benedict. Eggs Benedict was the dish.
See http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1942/12/19/benedict-2
And
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/thecity/08eggs.html?pagewanted=
all&_r=1&
30. ..AND DRINK
It is an informal social and running club that began in 1938 in Malaysia when a group of expats and Brit officers met on Monday evenings to run. the club got its name from the nickname of the Selangor Club Annex that was infamous for its terrible food. The club is located in every major city of the world and describes itself as a "drinking club with a running problem". Its rules are;
* To promote physical fitness among our members
* To get rid of weekend hangovers
* To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
* To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel.
Name the club.
CULTURE
Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front
teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm
long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a _____.
Who?
ANSWER
Selfie. First mention of the term.
See http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/selfie-australian-slang-term-
named-international-word-of-the-year
ETYMOLOGY
The English word for this perhaps comes from the Sinhalese for i.e. he that
crushes the limbs of buffaloes and yoke beasts, or from the Tamil for ‘having
killed an elephant’ (OED)
What?
ANSWER
Anaconda.
Etymology: Occurs in Ray, in a List of Indian Serpents from the Leyden Museum, as ‘anacandaia of the Ceylonese, i.e. he that crushes the limbs of buffaloes and yoke beasts,’ but not now a local name in Sri Lanka, and not satisfactorily explained either in Sinhalese or Tamil. (Compare however Tamil āṇaik′k′onḍa ‘having killed an elephant,’ Col. Yule.)
A name (a) originally applied (by English writers) to a ‘very large and terrible snake’ of Sri Lanka (? Python reticulatus, or P. molurus Gray); but (b) made by Daudin (? through erroneous identification, or mistake as to the source of a specimen) the specific name of a large South American Boa ( Boa murina Linn., B. aquaticaNeuwied., B. anacondo Daud., Eunectes murinus Wagler, Gray), called in Brazil sucuriù, or sucuriuba, to which it is now attached in the British Museum Catalogue, and London Zoological Gardens. (c) loosely applied to any large snake which crushes its prey
GOVERNMENT
This list goes back many years and is quite long. Therefore, here are the most recent nominees.
2008 State of the Union: Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior2009 presidential inauguration: Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense2009 presidential address to joint session of Congress: Eric Holder, AG
2009 health care speech to Congress: Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy2010 State of the Union: Shaun Donovan, Secretary of HUD
2011 State of the Union: Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior2012 State of the Union: Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture2013 presidential inauguration: Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs2013 State of the Union: Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy2014 State of the Union: Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy
Which list? (need a specific term)
ANSWER
Designated Survivor
“A designated survivor (or designated successor) is a member of the United
States Cabinet who is appointed to be at a physically distant, secure, and
undisclosed location when the President and the country's other top leaders
(e.g., Vice President and Cabinet members) are gathered at a single location,
such as during State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations.
This is intended to maintain continuity of government in the event of a
catastrophic occurrence which kills many officials in the presidential line of
succession. “
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_survivor