Sunday, 16 September 2007

"Passwords" courtesy Arvind

Read clues for the following 10 answers 1 by 1. More points are won for fewer clues to answer!

1. Personality

A. The King of Cancellations
B. 1990 World Cup in Italy
C. Plácido Domingo and José Carreras
D. "Oprah" Winfrey


2. Man-made object

A. Six Grandfathers
B. Named after Charles E. _____________, a prominent New York lawyer
C. Has 4 things
D. Rapid City, South Dakota


3. City

A. If the Earth was a single state, __________ would be its capital -Napoleon Bonaparte
B. 1204: the Fourth Crusade
C. Top 25 of world's largest cities by population (2005 data)
D. The City on Seven Hills


4. Book

A. Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed John Lennon, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police shortly thereafter. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.
B. In 1981, was both the most banned book in United States as well as the second most taught book in public schools.
C. List of people who have tried to make a film out of it: Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson to Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio, Elia Kazan, Harvey Weinstein and Steven Spielberg, John Cusack, Jerry Lewis, Billy Wilder
D. Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSik6Dovog8


5. Natural Formation

A. Its formation is one of the most important geologic events in the last 60 million years.
B. The recognition that yellow fever is caused by mosquitos and not human contact helped trade enormously.
C. First seen by Vasco Núñez de Balboa on September 25, 1513.
D. A narrow strip of land that is bordered on two sides by water and connects two larger land masses. (the opposite of a strait)


6. Fictional Character

A. David Niven, the only actor to play him in a 1935 movie.
B. "a spineless invertebrate"
C. Belongs to The ______ Club, where _______ is an English something whose characteristics are that "it does no work, living off the labour of others".
D. Bertram Wilberforce


7. Personality.

A. "The Cosmic Kite"
B.

C. 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'
D. 10


8. Movie

A. Raven McCoy
B. Black comedy, also known as black humour is a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously are treated in a humorous or satirical manner.
C. Other actors considered for the film included Sylvester Stallone, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Calderon, Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Joan Cusack, Isabella Rossellini, Daryl Hannah, Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and Pam Grier.
D. Honey Bunny


9. Brand Name/Product Name

A. Childe Harold Wills, Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas.
B. Revolutionary idea due to William C. Klann and not who you think
C. automatic transmission
D. Tin Lizzie/ Flivver


10. Mythological Character

A. Had a sister whose name meant girl with fish like eyes
B. His capital city was built by the architect of the gods
C. Shiva Tandava Stotra
D. Worshipped in Khonpura village in MP.

Arvind's quiz (Sept 2007)

1. This is the Torre dell'Orologio on Piazza San Marco in Venice. The clock (alternatively known as St Mark's Clocktower or the Moors' Clocktower) displays the time of day, the dominant sign of Zodiac and the current phase of the moon. Here, two bronze figures stand and, on the hour, ring a bell. This pair were originally intended as giants, but with the bronze swiftly blackening in the Venice air, they became known as 'the Moors', hence the tower's nickname. What has happened here for the first and only time in history?


2. In a 1994 movie called "Sleep with me", there is this memorable dialogue. Which actor is playing Sid?
Sid: You want subversion on a massive level. You know what one of the greatest fucking scripts ever written in the history of Hollywood is? Top Gun.
Duane: Oh, come on.
Sid: Top Gun is fucking great. What is Top Gun? You think it's a story about a bunch of fighter pilots.
Duane: It's about a bunch of guys waving their dicks around.
Sid: It is a story about a man's struggle with his own homosexuality. It is! That is what Top Gun is about, man. You've got Maverick, all right? He's on the edge, man. He's right on the fucking line, all right? And you've got Iceman, and all his crew. They're gay, they represent the gay man, all right? And they're saying, go, go the gay way, go the gay way. He could go both ways.
Duane: What about Kelly McGillis?
Sid: Kelly McGillis, she's heterosexuality. She's saying: no, no, no, no, no, no, go the normal way, play by the rules, go the normal way. They're saying no, go the gay way, be the gay way, go for the gay way, all right? That is what's going on throughout that whole movie... He goes to her house, all right? It looks like they're going to have sex, you know, they're just kind of sitting back, he's takin' a shower and everything. They don't have sex. He gets on the motorcycle, drives away. She's like, "What the fuck, what the fuck is going on here?" Next scene, next scene you see her, she's in the elevator, she is dressed like a guy. She's got the cap on, she's got the aviator glasses, she's wearing the same jacket that the Iceman wears. She is, okay, this is how I gotta get this guy, this guy's going towards the gay way, I gotta bring him back, I gotta bring him back from the gay way, so I'll do that through subterfuge, I'm gonna dress like a man. All right? That is how she approaches it. Okay, now let me just ask you - I'm gonna digress for two seconds here. I met this girl Amy here, she's like floating around here and everything. Now, she just got divorced, right? All right, but the REAL ending of the movie is when they fight the MIGs at the end, all right? Because he has passed over into the gay way. They are this gay fighting fucking force, all right? And they're beating the Russians, the gays are beating the Russians. And it's over, and they fucking land, and Iceman's been trying to get Maverick the entire time, and finally, he's got him, all right? And what is the last fucking line that they have together? They're all hugging and kissing and happy with each other, and Ice comes up to Maverick, and he says, "Man, you can ride my tail, anytime!" And what does Maverick say? "You can ride mine!" Swordfight! Swordfight! Fuckin' A, man!

(Hint: Think of the colour BROWN)


3. What is common to the following acronyms: ADIDAS (All Day I Dream About Sports), SOS (Save our Souls), PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language), GOLF (Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden) ?


4. This guy A was born in country X in 1649 and left for England when he was 4 years old, never to return. He was part of the British East India Company, and he became the second governor of a settlement at Madras (present-day city of Chennai) in 1687, after Streynsham Master. He was instrumental in the development of the Government General Hospital which was housed at Fort St George. A amassed a fortune in his lifetime, largely through secret contracts with Madras merchants, against the East India Company's directive. By 1692, A's repeated flouting of East India Company regulations, and growing embarrassment at his illegal profiteering resulted in his being relieved of the post of governor.
In 1718, a guy in country X contacted A to ask him for financial help in constructing a new building for a college just being formed. A donated nine bales of goods, which were sold for more than £560, a substantial sum at the time. He also donated 417 books and a portrait of King George I. The benefactor suggested that the college change its name to A College in gratitude to its benefactor, and to increase the chances that he would give the college another large donation or bequest. A was away in India when the news of the school's name change reached his home, a trip from which he never returned. And while he did ultimately leave his fortunes to the "Collegiate School within X," the institution was never able to successfully lay claim to it.
Who is A?
(Hint: One of the few universities to have its motto in Hebrew)

5. On June 29, 1950, West Indies completed an emphatic 326-run victory over England at Lord's. It was a defining moment, not only in West Indies cricket, but in the history of the Caribbean. CLR James, the legendary writer, had said that West Indian independence and national consciousness would not be shaped until they had beaten England at home at the game they had invented. They had now done that.
The enduring image of the Test, however, is not the game itself, but the post-match celebrations by a small group of West Indian spectators who, as The Times reported, rushed onto the field armed with "guitar-like instruments", and their celebratory calypsos.
Walcott, Weekes and Worrell held up their name
With wonder shots throughout the game
But England was beaten clean out of time
With the _____ bowling of ___________ & ________________


6. Hindi movies: Listen to the song: mammaiya kero.mp3. Identify the movie.

(Hint: 1985. Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Raj Kiran, Prem Chopra )



8. ___________ are not exclusively war dances, and nor are they only performed by men. Some are performed by women, others by mixed groups, and some simple _______ are performed by children. __________ are performed for various reasons: for amusement, as a hearty welcome to distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements or occasions. Various actions are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and the poking out of the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. It may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy or other feelings relevant to the purpose of the occasion. Identify.


9. There is a brilliant series of comics/graphic novels by Neil Gaiman called Sandman. There are humans and then there are the Immortals. The main character, also an immortal, is known by an array of names, most often Morpheus, but also Oneiros, Lord Shaper, Lord Kai'ckul, Lord L'Zoril, the Prince of Stories, the Carrion King, and, rarely, "The Sandman." His most common name, however, starts with the letter D, as do those of his six siblings. Name them.


10. With respect to Unix-based programs, connect _nano_, a simple text editor created by Chris Allegreta and _elm_ one of the earlier email clients short for ELectronic Mail developed by David Taylor while at HP.

What is scandalous about this photograph?

Figure shows a photograph by an American photographer Andres Serrano.

The piece caused a scandal when it was exhibited in 1989, with detractors accusing Serrano of blasphemy and others raising this as a major issue of artistic freedom. Senators Al D'Amato and Jesse Helms expressed outrage that the piece was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, since it is a federal taxpayer-financed institution.

Sister Wendy Beckett, an art critic, consecrated virgin and Catholic nun, voiced her approval of the photograph. She explained in a television interview that she regarded the work as a statement on "what we have done to Christ" - that is, the way contemporary society has come to regard Christ and the values he represents.

Identify X !



Mail in the Indus Valley of Sindh was delivered by runners and charged by weight and the distance traveled by the runners. In 1850, Sir Bartle Frere of the East India Company became the the Chief Commissioner of Sindh and created a postal system that had a uniform rate for all distances. This postal system created a need for a method to prepay postage. As a result, the X was created. It bears the Merchant's Mark of the British East India Company, a design embossed on sealing wax (Figure).

The name X derives from the British spelling of the name of the province of Sindh, and the anglicised spelling of the Hindustani word used to describe the postal service using runners.

Patel's quiz (9/2007)

Question 1

Here is a quote from the Boston Red Sox recruting agent Jon Deeble in May 2005.

"We expressed interest in him and we think he has a lot of potential, and the club has
tapes of him batting. Boston has a payroll of $160 million a year and it's something worth
having a look at."

Name 'him'.

Question 7

X wrote about a particular city Y.

Mother of Cities to me,
For I was born in her gate,
Between the palms and the sea,
Where the world-end steamers wait.

What is X and Y


Question 9

This annual event was first held in 1995. The last five years it has been held at the
following cities.
2003- San Diego, 2004- Houston, 2005- Jacksonville, 2006- Detroit and 2007- Miami.

Some of its past winners include Reggie Brooks, Ray Mickens, Dwight Freeney and Alex Smith

Name the event.


Question 10

What is Gilmore vs Gonzales.

Hint: Aftermath of 9/11.


Question 12

Here is a non exhaustive list.
Kid, Preteen, Teenage, Mother, Father and Grandparent

This is a list of ...


Question 13

'When Harry Met Llyod' was released in 2003 to largely negative reviews from the popular media and a
low box office income, due to the fact that Harry and Llyod neither approved of nor contributed to any part
of the filming/production, neither of them appeared in this film.

This movie is a prequel to another very famous movie.

Name the movie.


Question 14

On June 5th, 2007
David Bowie: "I only get five words? Sh*t, that was five. Four more there. That's three. Two."

Where did Bowie make this quote.


Question 16

Statement 1- 8:01 a.m. on June 26, 1974
Statement 2- A 10-pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum

Connect the two statements.


Question 17

Here is a non exhaustive list.
Birmingham City Zulus, Chelsea Headhunters, Manchester United Red Army, Tottenham Yid Army and Derby Lunatic Fringe

This a list of.....


Question 18

While winning the 1926 U.S. Open mens championship, X wore something that he himself had created:
a white, short-sleeve shirt made exclusively of a light knitted fabric called ‘jersey petit piqué’
that served to wick away moisture due to heat, the very first version of performance clothing in
sports. The shirt was a radical departure from tennis fashion of the day, which called for stiff,
woven, long-sleeve oxfords.

He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" or "the Alligator" by fans, because of his pugnacity on court.
He is now more famously known for the tennis shirt he introduced.

Who is X


Question 20

Whos epitaph reads
I lie somewhere over here



(Please find answers posted as a comment!)

Tuesday, 4 September 2007

Complete this!

What comes next?

Betty, Rosalyn, Nancy, Barbara., ???

This list is not exhaustive, but the order is important!