Set Seven

From across the seven seas I bring you this quiz set. First just the regular reminder: If you're new to this blog, please see the first posting Ground Zero in order to learn the basic rules of this quiz blog. Remember to use rot13.

Secondly, a quick glance at my posting schedule revealed to me that I have kept my promise to post an average of a question a day.... though my frequency could be better I guess.

Thirdly I'd just like to remind you to visit Shanth's and Kaushik's quiz blogs for some excellent questions. They are definitely more consistent in question quality than I am!

As a fourth point, I invite you, Dear Readers, to go over the past sets of questions whose answers are already posted, try them without looking at the answers if you haven't already done so, and to then please send in your ratings of the questions. Questions are rated on the basis of Quality and Toughness. The rating system is discussed in the first posting Ground Zero. Hopefully after enough of you have responded, I'll be able to publish a list of the Top 13 questions (so far).

As a fifth - what are you waiting for? Go check out the new set!

En avant!

Set Seven

7.1
Starting this month, authors ranging from Stephen King to John Grisham will auction the right to name a character in one of their upcoming novels. On Sept. 1, eBay Giving Works went live with the electronic auction. For the next 25 days, anyone with an Internet connection can bid 24 hours a day to insert names into their favorite writers’ heads. King says the highest bidder will get to name a character in a new zombie novel he describes as being “like cheap whisky ... very nasty and extremely satisfying.” Cult comic author Neil Gaiman will let his top buyer select the name for a gravestone. Andrew Sean Greer promises the winner may choose the name of a “coffee shop, bar, corset company or other business in another scene,” but only “should it suit the author.” Other authors include Amy Tan, Lemony Snicket, Nora Roberts, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Dorothy Allison, Peter Straub, ZZ Packer, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody, Ayelet Waldman, Andrew Sean Greer and Karen Joy Fowler.

Why are they doing this?

(With thanks to Sean for bringing this to my notice.)

7.2
Fill in the blank:

_______, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, Vince and Wilma.


7.3
There are two parts to this question, both with the same answer - so think of them as two different paths to the same destination. Here's the first path:

Connect:
a) Gershom, the son of Moses.
b) 666
c) Achluophobia

The second way is to identify and connect these pictures:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.


7.4
In 1962 his country's government declared him a national treasure so that he could not be lured away to work abroad for higher fees.

(With thanks to Shanth for making me accidentally dig this up.)

7.5
Legend has it that while the amrita/amrith was being taken to heaven, some drops fell on the ground - specifically on kusha grass. Garuda quickly whisked it away, but X came out, and desperately trying to get some amrita, licked the blades of grass. What happened? (Note: X is not one person/thing, but rather a collection)

7.6
Name the person whose three letters start with the following phrases:

1. Dear Boss
2. I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip....
3. From hell

7.7
"...exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person...You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work....In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug....Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue...This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleasant after-effects that follow exhilaration brought about by alcohol....Absolutely no craving for the further use of _______ appears after the first, or even after repeated taking of the drug..."

Who talking about what?


7.8
This Nobel Prize winning scientist was well known for his modesty and shyness and, the story goes, became a Physicist because of it. He applied to do Mathematics at Manchester, was interviewed for Physics by mistake and was too self conscious to mention it. However, impressed by the interviewer he decided to shift to Physics.

(Thank you, Shanth, for your serendipitous inspirations.)

7.9
Born Lij Tafari Makonnen, hailed by Marcus Garvey as a Messiah, he is God incarnate for a certain religion. Ironically, though, he himself never believed in the religion, being a devout member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Name the person and the religion.

(Once again, Shanth, thank you!)

7.10
And my personal favourite in this set:

Name the recipe, fill in the blank.

Makes 1 ________ quart

A couple of Deadheads in Maine sent us a postcard with a name for a new flavor. They left the recipe up to us. We got to work with some fresh Bing cherries and threw in the chocolate flakes as a last minute inspiration.

* 1/4 cup shaved plain chocolate (we prefer Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate candy bars)
* 1/4 cup fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted (you may use canned cherries, but be sure to drain the syrup)
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
* 1 cup milk

1. Place the shaved chocolate flakes and the cherries in separate bowls. Cover and refrigerate.

2. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.

3. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the chocolate and the cherries, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

Customary Vague Hint:
This recipe was first made in 1987. For a month after Aug 9 1995, the ice cream was made with black cherries.

Happy Labor Day, compadres.

Five Golden Rings

Welcome, welcome, to my 'umble abode. This week, we look at yet another set of solutions. Don't forget to rate the questions after you have read the answers, and don't forget to try out Set Seven, which is just up. The rating of questions is discussed in the first posting Ground Zero. Do send in the ratings, even the ones for previous sets, so that I can compile a Top 13 list. For now, look at the answers to Set Five, and you might ask your roommate to save you from severe head trauma in case you start banging your head on the wall too much. Or with a hammer.

Excelsior!

5.1
It's Milo Minderbinder, from Catch 22. Remember, everyone has a share in the Syndicate.

Shanth answered this, though he needed G-help pinning down the character.


5.2
Bruce Murrie's business partner was Forrest E. Mars of Mars, Inc. chocolate fame, and the product was.... M&Ms!

Einsteinophile got this, and it was googled by Shanth.

5.3
This arbitrary condition was included in the technical portion in order to make sure that the technical portion had been read thoroughly. If they went backstage and found the bowl of M&Ms with the brown ones removed, as specified, then they could rest easy that everything technical had been taken care of. If the bowl wasn't there, or if the brown ones had not been removed, then every technical detail would have to be double-checked again, to ensure that no damage resulted to their expensive equipment.
Pretty smart, eh?

5.4
The company was French Connection; the ads, the FCUK campaign.

Kaushik answered this without hesitation. People, you should go to their site and check out the history of their ad campaign - it's really something!

5.5
Da Da Da Daaaa!. The opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony gave the BBC their audio 'V' morse signal.

Kaushik had the idea but the wrong piece. He should have remembered H2G2 :). Kaushik's 'close but no cigar' answer actually helped Shanth pin the right one down.

5.6
In God We Trust, the motto on US coins.

Kaushik and Shanth both cracked this quite easily.

5.7
Banana Republic. You should find some oblique references in Tintin and the Picaros. Incidentally, it's also the name of a clothing store.

Once again, Shanth and Kaushik both answered this.

5.8
Zoroastrianism is the religion, and this is often quoted as evidence of a common origin in Central Asia.

Shanth nailed it, and made this very interesting comment: "Zoroastrianism or the Parsi relegion. I've always found this interesting, because the Aryan tribes which migrated to India were constantly warring with each other, yet nowadays, in the age of relegious (sic) terrorism and extremism, there is hardly any anti-Parsi movement among the Hindu right."

5.9
It's Nessie, the beloved Loch Ness monster. Kaushik caught Nessie (hidden as 'Nessi' in the scientific name), as did Shanth.

5.10
During Ragnarok, Fenrir will devour Odin, the chief of the Scandinavian Gods. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his death by slaying the wolf. Not a very exciting answer, but it's lovely mythology, though, isn't it?

Shanth ended up with a different answer.... I'm not sure from where. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me your source so that I can compare and correct if necessary. But I'm reasonably sure of my answer.

5.11
As for the bonuses... well the connect for the first three is M&M - it's the answer for the second, it's in the question for the third, and Milo's company is called M&M enterprises to make it seem like there's more than one person in charge.
In Britain, showing the 'V' sign with your fingers with your palm facing towards you instead of away, as it should be done, is equivalent to giving the finger. The urban legend behind this is quite interesting - click here to read a detailed investigation of an imaginative, but wrong explanation. Still, thanks to Arthur for bringing it to my notice. So the connection for 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 is 'fuck'. Van Halen had an album called 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge', which is again an urban legend about the origin of the word. Shanth got the first connect, and Kaushik found the second - well done!

Hope you enjoyed the bonuses. Remember, write in and rate the questions. Set Seven is up, so give it a shot.

Adios, amigos!

Hex set

This set took an awful long time to put together. Thankfully Kaushik finally put up the quiz Qs he had promised. It's a beautiful set that he put together, and I really didn't mind that I got screwed by them :). This set is under a bit of a curse, and isn't as good as previous ones, but it does have some interesting info. Let me get the regular routine out of the way, and then onwards.

"Hello, and welcome to XQZ. If you're new to this blog, please see the first posting Ground Zero in order to learn the basic rules of this quiz blog. Remember to use rot13."

En avant!

Set Six

6.1
Cynical Britons often call him the only man to go to Parliament with honourable intentions. His face inspired the mask in the graphic novel "V for Vendetta" (now a movie starring Natalie Portman)




6.2
Who sang this song?

It's not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold...
or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord'nary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky.

But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain,
or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.

Hint:
He used to interview nursery rhyme characters.

6.3
Identify this picture: it's a person who has caused much concern in France and other West European countries.



6.4
PC Magazine released a list of the top 100 most important/influential gadgets, toppped by the Apple Powerbook 100. What devices fell in spots 2 and 3? (Taken from Nihilanth Lone Wolf finals)

1. Apple Powerbook 100 (1991)
2.
3.
4. Motorola Startac (1996)
5. CDI mechanical mouse (1970)
6. Casio QV-10 digital camera (1996)
7. US Robotics Pilot 1000 (1996)
8. Diamond Multimedia Rio 300 (1998)
9. Atari 7600 (1977)
10. Tivo Series 1 (1999)


6.5
What are The Palm Jumeirah and The Palm Jebel Ali, and what record will they hold when completed?

*Commercial break*

Random silly bonus question (RSBQ), unconnected with other stuff:

Connect:
1. "An ornament and a safeguard"
2. "No one provokes me with impunity"
3. "I am true to my country"

*We now return to .... Hex set.*

6.6
"____________ is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honour."

Fill the blank, give the person who said it and the book.

6.6
In 1957, Lester B. Pearson (who later became the PM of Canada) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis through the United Nations. The selection committee claimed that Pearson had "saved the world". He also made another longlasting contribution, colloquially known today as the blue helmets. What? (Thanks to Edward Wilson-Ewing for this information.)

6.7
The Dot, a robot, The Genius, jigsaw puzzle/logo, a globe, a cat and a dog.
One more item belongs to this group. What?

6.8
Its name means Television of the South. Its advisory council is formed by many international and regional intellectuals, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, poet Ernesto Cardenal, writers Eduardo Galeano and Tariq Ali, newspaper editor and historian Ignacio Ramonet, free software pioneer Richard Stallman, and actor Danny Glover. What is it, and who is its prime supporter?

6.9
Connect the following pictures:






6.10
This is a picture of Duncan's Hall, in Glamis castle. What does it commemorate?