Tag: r.e.m.

Quiz: Speak German in 10 Easy Lessons

15-October-08 / James Callan

Round 2 at the Old Pequliar on October 7, 2008

The correct answer to each of these questions will be a German loanword — that is, a German word adopted into English, such as zeitgeist or schadenfreude.

1) In heavy metal, once you “get the led out,” what are you left with?Â
2) You can support humanitarian clowning at what Patch Adams institute that takes its name from a common blessing?
3) Though he doesn’t have a lot in common with the Rosenheim manifestation, or the Freeling family’s “TV people,” in the Harry Potter universe, Peeves is what kind of magical creature?
4) Nixon went to China because of what pragmatic diplomatic policy advocated by Henry Kissinger?
5) A German who longs to see the world would say they’ve got Fernweh. But an American a yen for travel–or Bjork, R.E.M., or Megadeth–says they have what desire instead?
6) What subgenre of electronica gets its name because it incorporates sounds like CD skipping, hardware noise, system errors, and other technological malfunctions?
7) It could have been named for Engis, Belgium or Forbes’ Quarry, Gibraltar, but what extinct species instead takes its name from the German valley where the third fossil specimen was discovered?
8) Oval, D, offset-D, and pear are four common shapes of what piece of equipment that often holds mountain climbers, cavers, or keys?
9) John Williams put the opera in space opera by composing what Wagnerian themes for Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, Yoda, the droids, and even the Jawas?
10) “Don’t hit people,” “be aware of wonder,” and “flush” are three lifelong lessons Robert Fulghum first learned where?

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Quiz: Movies

23-April-08 / James Callan

Round 7 at the Old Pequliar on Feb. 5, 2008
Average score: 4/10 (8 teams)

1) What 1997 comedy, which shares its name with a fast food restaurant, includes an Academy Awards ceremony where the Best Actor nominees include Paul Newman in “Coot”, Clint Eastwood in “Codger”, Michael Douglas in “Primary Urges” and Steven Seagal in “Snowball in Hell”?
2) What 2005 satire, which takes its name from an early REM song, did David Denby describe as a “dirty-minded poison-pen letter to a country swollen with self-esteem” and compare to Election, Heathers, and Mean Girls?
3) What 2005 horror film, a remake of a John Carpenter movie, concerns the fate of the crew of the Elizabeth Dane?
4) In Ocean’s Twelve, Topher Grace says he “totally phoned in that Dennis Quaid movie.” What 2004 movie is he talking about?
5) What 2004 film featuring a raunchy version of the hokey pokey was director John Waters’ first film rated NC-17?
6) What 2001 comedy was adapted into a musical starring Laura Bell Bundy, which debuted last year in San Francisco before opening at the Palace Theater on Broadway?
7) What 2002 Cameron Diaz comedy, which shares its name with a U2 song, did film critic Charles Taylor declare “one of the flattest, stupidest, unfunniest sex comedies — as well as one of the worst all-round pictures — I’ve ever seen”?
8) Indie pop band Belle & Sebastian composed the soundtrack for what 2001 Todd Solondz film?
9) What 2004 film based on a comic book character did Guillermo del Toro direct between Blade II and Pan’s Labyrinth?
10) Who appeared in all nine of these movies?

Triangulation

10-April-08 / James Callan

Round 5 at the Old Pequliar on April 1, 2008
Average score: 6.33/10 (21 teams)

example: a Roman goddess, a Canadian music award, and one of this yearâ€™s Best Picture nominees = Juno

1) something you might find on a map, part of a telegraph, and a Florida island
2) a fictional duck, a program used in computer networking, and a noise your car’s engine might make
3) something that can kill an unprepared hiker, magicians’ slang for revealing secrets to non-magicians, and something to keep in mind when you’re taking a picture
4) a symbol for heat, a James Bond character, and the fictional avenue where Gary Coleman lives
5) a shade of black, a musical gang member, and a hit song by Wings
6) a briefcase, CondÃ© Nast’s business magazine, and a collection of your best work
7) a secret agent on TV, a Michael Jackson role, and an iconic local retail store
8) a John Coltrane tune, part of the NATO phonetic alphabet, and a country
9) a film studio mascot, a zodiac sign, and any of 13 popes
10) an Italian motorcycle, an R.E.M. album, and a common last name on Sesame Street

Theme: You’ll Figure It Out

8-April-08 / James Callan

Round 2 at the Old Pequliar on April 1, 2008
Average score: 6.48/10 (21 teams)

1) When members of U2 and R.E.M. played at Clinton’s inaugural festivities as Automatic Baby, what U2 song did they play?
2) China discovered it had a population of about 60 million people when its first-ever census concluded in what year? (Julian calendar)
3) According to the Greek poet Hesiod, how many gorgons were there before Medusa got her head lopped off?
4) In English, what’s the only number with a name spelled with exactly as many letters as the number itself?
5) How many pillars of Islam are there?
6) According to musical superstition, a composer will die shortly after completing how many symphonies?
7) What song was the biggest hit from Prince’s “love symbol” album?
8) If you’re raised Mormon, how old are you when you hit the age of accountability, when you know the difference between right and wrong in the eyes of God?
9) What Jimi Hendrix song, which turns a couple of numerals upside-down, was featured on the Easy Rider soundtrack?
10) What risquÃ© 1979 comedy was marketed as “a temptingly tasteful comedy for adults who can count”?

Quiz: Answers Phrased in the Form of a Question

5-September-07 / James Callan

1) Comedian Ryan Stiles frequently appeared on both the British and US versions of what improv comedy show?

2) On April 24, 1992, ABC aired the final episodes of Growing Pains, MacGyver, and what long-running sitcom, ending the popular career of Danny Pintauro?

3) What catchphrase, later quoted by Walter Mondale, was first heard in a commercial called “Fluffy Bun”?

4) What’s the first album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, later spoofed on a collection of Get Fuzzy cartoons?

5) Someone beat up Dan Rather in 1986. Inspired by the incident, R.E.M. wrote what song, the first single off their 1994 album Monster?

6) What four-word question from the 1933 version of Island of Dr. Moreau was answered “We are Devo” in 1978?

7) The ACME Detective Agency tracks a criminal mastermind around the globe in what software game series and educational children’s game show?

8) What’s the love theme from Superman, spoken by Lois Lane in the film, the title of which could also make a good icebreaker with Professor X?

9) What advertising slogan was introduced in a TV commercial set in an Alexander Hamilton museum?

10) What 1987 book made the American Library Association’s “most frequently banned books” list because, in addition to the main character, you can find a topless woman “On the Beach”?

Round 3 at the Old Pequliar on Sept. 4, 2007.

Quiz: The End of the World

27-June-07 / James Callan

1) According to Christian tradition, which apostle wrote the Book of Revelation?
2) Which Stephen King novel was his self-described attempt to “do the Lord of the Rings with an American background”?
3) What bestselling series of novels, named after the first book in the series, includes Tribulation Force, Soul Harvest, The Indwelling, Armageddon, and Kingdom Come?
4) After writing his post-apocalyptic novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize and had his first television interview. Who interviewed him?
5) What movie ends with these lines: “You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!”
6) What 1983 foreign-language song did VH1 select as #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders?
7) R.E.M.’s song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” mentions four famous people with the initials LB. Name two of them.
8) Henry Bemis had all the time he wanted to read — but now he’s “just a part of a smashed landscape, just a piece of the rubble, just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself.” What ironic thing happened to Henry Bemis that inspired these closing comments on The Twilight Zone?
9) “This is the way the world ends / not with a bang but a whimper” are the last lines of what TS Eliot poem?
10) In May of this year, CBS canceled Jericho. To protest, fans sent over 20 tons of what to CBS headquarters?
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Quiz: Superman

30-May-07 / James Callan

1) As a wee baby, Kal-El (a.k.a. Superman) was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. What was Martha’s maiden name?
2) Christopher Reeve broke two vertibrae in an accident while he was doing what?
3) In the video for the Genesis song “Land of Confusion,” what world leader dresses up as Superman?
4) What well-known alternative rock band covered The Clique’s song “Superman” on a 1986 album?
5) Who costarred with Superman in an American Express commercial that aired during the 1998 Super Bowl?
6) In the movie Stand by Me, Vern wonders if what cartoon character could beat up Superman?
7) What 1999 comedy involves a computer-based interest-skimming theft that was inspired, as one character says, by Superman III?
8) In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which of Calvin’s alter egos used his powers to spin the earth backwards and give Calvin an extra day off from school?
9) Author Larry Niven explored the rather messy problems involved if Superman had sex with a human woman in his essay “Man of Steel, Woman of” what?
10) When Superman died in 1992, what character killed him?